Chasing the Darkness
by myfailsafe
Summary: AU. VampireFic. As Naruto tries to urgently find the source to the string of murders that plagued his city, he soon finds himself chasing something entirely absurd. That is, until it chases him. SasuNaru.
1. Findings of Blood

Chapter One: Findings of Blood

Author's Notes: I know, I should be working on other things. When I started working on this a year ago, I put it on the back burner for other fictions, but…blame my muse (RESUNA).  
- _No_ sparkly vampires. Yeah, I said it. Don't take offence to it either because it isn't even your damn book. Anyway, it's just not going to happen.  
- Mentions of Crosses, Crucifixes and Rosaries will be made. So, religious people who are going to see this as an offence should just stay away.  
- Character deaths will occur. Actually, that's not even a sure fire thing, but I'm leaning towards it, and I want to be safe.  
- This is a fic which involves guys loving each other. If you do not like it, don't tell me, because I frankly don't care.  
Okay. That covers warning and AN.

Disclaimer for the Entire Shindig: I don't own anything pertaining to Naruto, or anything that is mentioned that might just so happen to be copyrighted or trademarked. I also don't make _money_ from this stuff. That's right, I do it for _fun_. Crazy – right?

I present to you, my worst blunder: _Chasing the Darkness_

Chapter One: Findings of Blood

Dedication: To Taylor, for giving me that extra push to dust this off, shine it up, and hope for the best.

* * *

"Two more of the missing were found dead."

"That's sixteen and the week isn't even over."

"Autopsy showed they were completely drained of all blood from an unknown source. All of them the same."

A sigh echoed in the silent office, "You know who we have to get on the case."

There was a sharp slap; two hands clapping down on the wooden desk. "No! Are you -?"

"UZUMAKI!" A booming voice rang out over the protesting one.

Two sets of eyes slowly turned towards the opened doorway, footsteps echoing and growing in volume as the person approached.

A mop of sun glow blond hair fluttered around the corner, bright summer-sky blue eyes curiously searched the room and found its caller.

"Yeah Jiraiya?"

A hand came up to run through the long mane of white hair before waving in the younger man, "Come in here Naruto, I need to talk to you."

The young man fully came around the corner, tripping over his feet a little and looking towards the floor questionably as if it was the reason for his stumble. The blond turned and smiled a bright, cloud splitting smile towards the two adults as he straightened himself and strode confidently into the room.

"Hey Granny, hey…" He shrugged as he flopped in a chair, throwing his feet onto the desk, "Pervert."

The woman in the room shoved his feet off the desk, making him cling to his chair in fear of him being shoved completely out of his chair.

"Call me '_granny_' again brat, and I'll have your fucking head."

Blue eyes turned to the man on the other side of the desk for confirmation, and all Jiraiya could do was duck his head in fear.

"Alright, alright. Calm down Tsunade…if you freak out too much your boobs might pop out of that shirt."

Honey eyes peered down at the low cut shirt that she just so happened to throw on in her haste to get to work and growled, throwing her arms over her large chest and turning away slightly.

Naruto straightened himself in his chair, crossing bronzed arms casually and looking expectantly at Jiraiya, "What's going on?"

"Well, as you're aware, there has been a recent outbreak of missing people in the last month. Whether it be from abductions or these people just decided to up and leave, we still aren't sure."

The blond nodded, slouching in his seat, "I'm aware. I did all the damn reports you lazy ass."

The man shot Naruto a look when Jiraiya felt Tsunade's heated glare on his face, "Two more of the missing turned up dead this morning. Patrol received a distressed phone call; seems the bodies were left on a balcony."

The blond looked down to his fingers, flicking them up while his lips silently counted, "So that makes sixteen?"

"Yes."

"Autopsy shows the same thing, doesn't it?"

Tsunade sighed as she sat on the edge of the desk, "Yes."

The blond stretched, his joints popping and cracking awkwardly, "Well," Naruto slapped the arms of the antique chair he sat in, "I suppose I should get going."

A throat cleared, "Naruto…"

Said blond turned to the woman who slid off the desk, her sharp eyes watching him. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Naruto leaned against the doorframe that he had reached and smiled lightly, "Of course not."

Jiraiya sighed, "As far as we're concerned, right?"

The blond hair swayed lightly at the nod, "Of course."

Naruto slid off the doorframe with a light wave of his hand and quick steps leaving the two adults in the room; one huffing and one chuckling.

Tsunade turned her sharp look on the man behind the desk, the chuckling dying off with a sharp intake of breath.

"Why on Earth are you _laughing_?"

The man stood from his desk with a light groan, "You worry too much. He's just saying all that stuff to keep us safe. You know, that mumbo-jumbo about having no idea and us."

Tsunade let out a light sigh, crossing her arms and facing Jiraiya as he rounded the desk, "So you think he already has a lead?"

The man smiled gently, "Naruto always finds a lead."

The blonde frowned, "No. Usually it finds him."

* * *

Bright red eyes scanned the streets, flicking back and forth through the clear glass as the people walked by as the haze of night settled in. Some people had quickened steps, hurried in what seemed like a panic, and others were casually strolling; most with bags from previously shopping in the strip of stores just nearby.

"Sasuke…are you hunting so early? The sun has just set."

Pale slender digits came up to rake through perfect raven hair; part of his bangs framing his face, flowing in silky curtains, while some delicately hung in his face. The dark hair clashed perfectly with his flawless porcelain skin, the dark contrasting with the light. His eyes were fierce and ever changing from the bloodlusting red to the cool charcoal that was smoky and calm.

He turned away from the high window with a sharp glare towards the woman who was facing him, his pale lips pulled into a flat line from his annoyance.

The woman snapped her mouth closed to silence the upcoming sentence that was bubbling up her throat, the force of the closing echoing harshly in the dark, empty room.  
She bowed her head, her curtain of hair falling to cover her face as she backed into the shadows and quietly left the room without the sound of footfalls as evidence.

He turned back to the window, his fingertips gently running over the powder-white cravat that tied elegantly around his delicate neck before lifting them to trail down the glass. A smirk carved its way onto his face, lighting it with a hint of arrogance.

"Soon," His voice came out deep and hypnotic, enticing, "I can feel it."

* * *

"Hey, ass-hat, wake up!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A snore that died in a throat roared into a loud snort, the door continuing to take the abuse from the persistent man on the other side.

"Wake up and open the door!" The pounding on the door picked up in volume and speed, working in the chiming of the singing doorbell.

A groan echoed through the air in the cramped apartment, "Why in the _hell_ did I install that damn thing?"

As the melody of _Come and Knock on Our Door_ continued to float through the air mingling with Naruto's irritating prattle about what could only be called '_this and that_'; the so-called _'shitty partner'_ finally rose.

"Alright, alright Uzumaki. One more fucking push of that damn button and I'll shove the cast of _Threes Company_ down your damn throat."

There was a huff from the other side of the door, "Then wake up when I need you."

The last and final lock slid back from its position, the door barely opening before the blond pushed it open and strode confidently in without so much as a passing glance.  
"Please. Do come in, won't you?"

Blue eyes snapped to attention and away from the file that was in his hand open and filled with too much information, "Ramen?"

"Kitchen."

The blonde tilted his head, blindly reaching over and flicking the small entryway light on, "Kiba, you have feathers in your hair."

The man reached a hand up and slowly raked his hand through his cropped, messy brunette hair before pulling it back in front of his eyes to be full of feathers.

Naruto snorted, biting back on a full laughing fit, "Did you have that dream again?"

"Did you need my _help_ again?"

Blue eyes rolled at the cheep attempt at a threat, "I'm sorry I woke you up, but I can leave you out if you want, princess buttercup. Too think Nara agreed before you, what will that do for your street cred?"

The brunette growled with a glare, shoving the feathers that he managed to retrieve out of his hair into the opened breast pocket of the button-up shirt that the blonde wore underneath his jacket.

Naruto continued to smile brightly, "Not sleep well? Apparently Beast needs more beauty rest then Bell, huh fuzzball?"

The brunette paused from making his way back to his bedroom to change, "Who's been writing your insults this time, noodle?"

The blond deflated, "Just about everyone."

"Save for Shikamaru?"

"Too much effort or some crap." The blond grumbled irritably as he turned towards the kitchen.

Kiba followed the energetic blond into his own kitchen, watching the man shift through his cabinets like he owned the place.

"I moved them, sunbeam. Top shelf, furthest cabinet."

Naruto moved down, one long stride without being courteous enough to shut the other doors in his one track thought for his sweet drug of ramen.

"So," Kiba began as he leaned against the entryway to the kitchen, "What's the story?"

"I'd like to ask you the same thing about those sleep pants, dog chow."

The brunette looked down past his crossed arms down at his dog printed pajama pants, "I like them, which is more than I can say for my feelings for you at this moment. What the hell is the damn story Naruto?"

The blond turned with the stack of packages in his hands, a bright smile lighting his features, "The story is you get dressed, and then you meet me at Shika's nerd cave."

"His basement?"

Naruto shrugged, "Same to me."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Hey Gaara, can you give me the other one?"

A blank spot where an eyebrow should've been rose, a blank expression waiting as the blond across from him bounced in his seat.

A tan finger pointed, "_That_ one. You should know the order in which I eat these things!"

The maroon-headed man silently handed over the cup, his jade eyes rolling and a sigh escaping from someone else.

Mainly from the man who was lounging lazily next to the blond, his high ponytail still messy from the deep sleep he was woken from. Not that the action of Shikamaru sleeping was anything out of the ordinary, or him being too lazy to fix his hair was all too shocking.

"Troublesome."

The blonde swallowed the rather large mouthful that he inhaled, "Paycheck."

Shikamaru struggled to glance over at the blonde next to him, the effort seeming to much for him, "That still doesn't rid the fact that it's troublesome."

The three turned their attention to the old creaking stairs to their left, footfalls echoing as they gingerly walked down the ancient steps that threatened to collapse.

Kiba jumped down the last five and turned to look up the others with a frown, "I'd ask for you to fix them, but impossible comes to mind."

Shikamaru sent him a lazy wave, welcoming him while Gaara nodded and Naruto slurped on his noodles noisily.

"Alright, now I'm here. Care to share what is so important." Kiba flopped down on the couch next to the silent Gaara who gave him an irritated look.

The blonde threw the folder on the table, "I'd rather you read it then have me spew it."

Kiba reached forward before the other's; Shikamaru not wasting energy and Gaara having more patience than the man next to him.

"Did you dig this up, Nara?"

"Do you see my hair?"

Kiba chuckled as he opened the thick folder and let his eyes scan over the first page. His brow furrowed as his head jerked at what he assumed was a joke, flipping through the next. The male let out a false chuckle before he lifted up the stack and flipped through all the papers hastily, his eyes searching for something new.

"It has the same…idea, Kiba." The blond filled him in as Gaara passed another cup of ramen blindly.

The brunette tossed the thick folder in Gaara's lap, who huffed roughly; Kiba giving Naruto a skeptical look and Gaara looking at Kiba like he was going to strangle him.

"You really don't expect us to believe this, do you?"

Jade eyes flicked up from the papers with a questioning look, and the pair on the opposite couch turned to Shikamaru as he turned in his chair with help from Naruto.

"Troublesome. I, we, he…whoever. Nobody expects you to believe what you read here. What we're…expecting is-"

"Assistance in finding if it's bullshit or not." Naruto cut in.

Gaara held up the top five pages, a picture fastened to the stack and glared at the blond, his voice monotone as he tried to snap, "You expect us to believe that there are _vampires_ – mythological creatures – behind this?"

The blond smiled, "Proof is in the pudding?"

Shikamaru sighed. "The proof is in that troublesome report. Our first and _only_ lead is with the lack of one thing with every single body that turned up."

Gaara tossed the stack of papers on the table, the group in which had been bundled together, pictures littering for evidence. "Blood."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Have you _read_ all of this?"

Gaara snorted, "Do you know who you're asking read all of that report?"

The blond huffed, "Shikamaru explained everything."

"Ah, so he gave you the kiddy version." Kiba mocked.

The blond stuck out his tongue childishly as a retort, "I understand it."

Gaara turned jade eyes on the blond, "Do you really understand all the folklore we're dealing with?"

Kiba laughed, "So…where are we going to get a little virgin boy to go through a graveyard on a virgin stallion? Black or white horsy, Uzumaki?"

"Can't we count your dog as a horse, Inuzuka?" Naruto leaned forward to look at the papers.

"And according to this belief, any corpse that so happened to be jumped over by a dog or cat, was to be believed to become undead." Gaara droned on.

The three turned to look at Kiba who glared, "What?"

"You've never seen yourself in the morning…" Naruto commented quickly.

Kiba chuckled, "Hey, who needs Holy Water when you can throw mustard seeds on your roof?"

Shikamaru opened his left eye, "What about the one with going through running water? Put rushing waters around the city and we're fine."

The blonde huffed and slammed down his eighth cup of ramen, "What are you all _getting_ at?"

The lazy genius struggled to rise from his position of laying over and scratched at his face with his index finger. "We're dealing with an outrageous amount of folklore, which is a troublesome amount of work. But more importantly, if you really want us to chase this as the reasoning behind these disappearances and deaths, then we're going in rather blind."

The blond snatched a handful of papers off the table and shook them, "How in the hell is this blind?"

Gaara leaned back into the couch, "It's too much to work with. We don't know what we're looking for."

Kiba read on, "Well, they can blend in with society and look normal. Or, they can be bloated little chodes. That's cute. So if blondie here was right and there are wild, undead, bloodsucking freaks running around our town like some horribly written story, this is saying we are looking for a billion different things. So how on earth will we find them? _If_ there is a '_them_'."

Naruto looked up, "Duh."

"Duh, what?" Kiba bit.

"Cat and mouse."

The brunette threw the papers on the table, "And what if there is no such thing as _vampires_, Naruto?" Kiba laughed at his own sentence.

He was starting to get too desperate for a paycheck.

"Then we go back to hunting for regular ol' serial killers, like a normal detective should."

* * *

"Their culture is rather grotesque, don't you agree?" His voice rung deep, echoing lightly through the gutted room.

"Yes, Sasuke."

"These…guns, drugs and robbery that seem to fuel them, wretched little beasts, don't you agree?"

"Yes, Sasuke."

The raven let out a soft sigh; forced with the air he had to purposely pull in, "Juugo, must you agree with every word I speak?"

"Yes, Sasuke."

The man turned from the window in which he had stayed since the sun had set, his fingertips lightly ghosting over the blazer that was thrown on over the shirt that clung to his form. His hands trailed down so the tips of his fingers could feel at the fabric of the coal colored jeans that hung in an alluring fashion from his hips, a sliver a pale skin exposed. His coal eyes looked on, waiting for any indication that he might look as though he blended in with the culture that he was forced to grow into, but grown to hate.

"Well Juugo. Do I look as though I belong?"

The man across from him bobbed his head but once, signaling he did agree and not because he had too.

Sasuke's face slowly crawled out of the impassive mask that it usually kept itself in as a smirk drew itself onto his face. Yet, his pale petal lips continued to pull at the corners of his mouth as he turned away from the man whom he had been addressing, dismissing him simply without a word as his lips pulled into a smile.

There, for the first time underneath the twinkling moonlight that shone through the window, you could make out the tips of white that shown out of the seam of his mouth. His eyes flashed a dangerous red before they cooled to the coaxing black, and the teeth were gone and became only a fading memory as his face slipped back into the impassive mask.

His palm pressed urgently against the glass, "He knows I'm here..."

* * *

Author's Notes: -sigh- I always wanted to do a vampire one, but, I don't know where it's going, I don't know how often updates will be, and all that jazz. Yes, Nevi is rotten.  
-I know I called them a chode. It was meant to be funny. If you don't know what it is…well, it's a penis that's wider than it is longer. See?...What? Not funny? Bah.

I know you all have questions – such as…time period. What damn time period are we in. I'll get to it.  
Also, I know how Sasuke's speaking is most likely wrong, it's most likely for only this chapter. Calm, calm, calm, calm.  
And for those of you who are glaring me into an early grave, I _am_ working on the sequel to ALLTF. Swear.


	2. Lullaby for Madness

Chapter Two: Lullaby for Madness

Author's Notes: So, remember how I said I don't know where this is going? That means I don't have this planned out, as usual. You guys didn't know that? Nevi _never_ outlines or plans any of her fics, but simply goes from the top of her head. Crazy Nev-nev, huh?

Important: I feel it's needed to be said that I feel that there is too much Vampire folklore to sit there and appease all my readers. I might like this, and you might like that. I might believe in this and you might _hate_ that. In the end…we might bump heads.

Disclaimer and Warning: Can be found in first chapter.

Chapter Two: Lullaby for Madness

"Pale angel go away  
Come again some other day  
The devil has my ear today  
I'll never hear a word you say  
He promised I would find a little  
Solace and some piece of mind  
Whatever just as long as I don't feel so…" – _Weak and Powerless_ by A Perfect Circle

Dedication: S. Wright – Because you always make writing worth it.  
Shout out to Muse Taylor. Your art always inspires me.

* * *

"You're fucking mad."

The blond didn't so much as glance towards the brunette who _never_ beat around _any_ bush and sighed, "Why?"

Blue eyes flicked up from the book _The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead_ and found his best friend standing in front of him with a face contorted between anger and pity. Kiba reached down, picking up the copy _Vampires: The Occult Truth_ and shaking his head with a sigh before shaking the book roughly.

"Really? I thought you were _joking_?"

The blond's eyes crinkled shut before he let out a rumbling laugh that came straight from the gut, "Come on, really?"

Kiba gave another look, and the laughter immediately died in Naruto's throat, "Alright, alright. So, I have been known to pull a few pranks in my day."

"Every day."

"Whatever." Naruto bit.

Naruto reached forward and grabbed _Vampires, Burials, and Death: Folklore and Reality_ and stacked it on top of _Vampires and Vampirism: Legends from Around the World (Classics of Preternatural History)_ and handed them over with a smile.

"These are yours. Shika already finished."

Kiba snorted as he parted the books and held one in each hand and let his eyes flick from book to book. "Or never started. You're really going ahead with this whole theory, aren't you?"

The head of blond hair bobbed lightly, he actually seeming immersed in the book that was propped in his lap.

"_Vampires_?" Kiba spat the question like the word dirtied his mouth while he looked questionably at the blond, who was in fact, too into what he was reading to actually be enjoying it.

The brunette sighed, and reached over the edge of the book and grabbed at the opened, and newest issue, of _Game Informer_ magazine. The blonde squawked and let the book crash to the floor as he grabbed for his magazine.

"No. You listen here, Uzumaki. Are you _really_ entertaining the idea of _vampires_? No other theories have been tested. What about large amounts of Anticoagulants?"

The blonde chuckled, "You watch too many movies. You would be able to trace that substance in their body. In all sixteen cases this week, the forty-seven total, there has been complete drain without a trace."

"Okay!" Kiba threw his hands up in the air, almost tossing the books as well, "What about fangs! Markings from them, hm? _Hmm_!?"

Kiba angrily shook a book in Naruto's face instead of a finger, waiting for the blond to quit staring like he had lost his mind. He didn't _lose_ it, he just snapped a little is all.

Naruto tapped the book lightly, waiting for Kiba to drop what he was waiting to become a weapon, "You've helped me throughout the years, right?"

The brunette finally plopped into the raggedy armchair across from the blond with a sigh, "Here we go."

It was true. Once Naruto took job as detective, he was never one to leave Kiba alone. Or Shikamaru or Gaara for that matter. Kiba was his makeshift partner through the years, and even though he should have taken the one that was supposed to come with the notepad, the blond didn't want him. So, when Naruto needed the help, he dragged Kiba along. At first, they both fainted. That's right – fainted. Hell, the crime scene was so much different than the photos given to him by Jiraiya.

And Jiraiya was the reason Naruto could bring his friends in on everything.

Sure, it was technically illegal, but it was a crooked as the old pervert got. The blond busted every case he was put on when he got his friends to help, and so, the old man allowed it.  
Especially since it wasn't on his payroll, but more rolling out of Naruto's back pocket.

"You know my methods are over the top." Naruto attempted to soothe, "That's how we caught that freak in Philly, remember? You remember."

Kiba snorted looking at his friend with a shake to his head, "You blamed the _Philly Phanatic_ for a string of murders that spread through North West like wild fire."

Naruto laughed, throwing a hand over his face lightly as he thought back to his crazed outcry to get his friends to go with him. "But! See…see? The more over the top, the more you all are willing to prove me wrong."

Kiba's shoulders drooped, his head dropping a little at the side as he gave an unbelieving look and aimed it towards his best friend, "So when you pressed_ Hambergaler_ being the reasoning behind that drug bust in Miami, you _weren't_ serious?"

Naruto shook his shaggy blond head and Kiba let out a sigh of relief mixed with a laugh. "Thank god, maybe you can take after your father after all. Really Naruto, I've been wondering about you for awhile. I'm glad this," Kiba held up the books, "is all for show."

The blond shrugged as he bent over and picked up the large lifeless paperback that had fallen to the floor. Summer sky blue eyes twinkled before growing with exaggeration, "Wouldn't it be _wild_ if it wasn't?"

* * *

Rubber soles of the _Doc Martin_ boots rubbed awkwardly against the wet, paved pathway that cut through a dimly lit park. The walkway was lit by tall lamp posts that were spread out every few feet, hanging high and illuminating the path in a twinkle as water droplets clung to the glass.

The jeans that frayed at the bottom dragged against the damp ground, soaking up that rain that had previously poured from the angry gray sky that still lingered. Pale fingers came up to check the white muffler that seemed to be carelessly wrapped around a slender pale neck. A gentle sigh escaped with force, as the habit of roaming fingers continued to drift to the blazer before sliding down to the jeans; his fingers taking in the familiar feeling.

He felt weak, and the walk alone felt as though it was pulling the last remnants of his energy, but in order to restore what he lost he had to move. He silently cursed the rain as he continued to move at a swift human pace, what he assumed was as normal as he could get, his dark red eyes searching the park endlessly in a well composed hope.

He could technically smell her before he saw her. He could smell the egg whites she ate for breakfast and the last hint of perfume still clinging to her clothing. He could hear the rapid clicking of her heels as she rushed to where he assumed was home. But, best of all, he could hear the wonderful and drawling thrumming of her heartbeat.

It took him but a moment to catch up with her; always knowing when to control his speed and when to let his hunger control it for him. It was easy to cut off her scream, to easily drown it out and take her back from where he had come.

It wasn't as easy to feed in a park as they once made it.

Juugo wasn't waiting for him as he entered; he wasn't surprised in the least, and was more relived than he would ever let show. He could hear Karin humming a tune two floors up and could tell more by her mood that she had just fed.

So, as white fangs pierced the velvet skin the covered the neck of the woman without a name, whose face he wouldn't care to remember; Sasuke decided to join Karin in her happy spirits.

His new personal mantra played on absently in the back of his mind as his energy returned and the woman's life faded away in his hands.  
_  
Soon, Soon, Soon…  
_

"Call just came in last night." Naruto shared.

"You finally get a date?" Kiba asked grumpily.

The blond stuck out his tongue, "No. Another random person was taken from the park."

Shikamaru sighed, sparing the energy to lean forward and grab a slice of toast, "Troublesome."

But not to talk too much.

"I can't see this being a serial killer anymore." Gaara spoke up, staring down at his eggs with a questioning look. Questioning, like, '_are they going to kill me if I eat them_'?

Naruto looked up from the newspaper, frowning when Kiba snatched the comics right out of his grasp and threw it somewhere out of reach. The blond pouted towards his best friend who was always grumpy in the morning.

"_Why_ can't it be a serial killer, Gaara?" Kiba strained.

"Yes, please don't leave _Kibbles and Bits_ in suspense." The blond glared.

"Don't make it too complex for _Barbie_." The brunette snarled.

Gaara smacked a hand down on the table, causing the two to look away from each other and glare at opposing walls like children.

"The hits are too frequent for one. Serial killers are known to be abnormally patient. They want to make sure they have the right target as if the person they are going to kill is special in their mind. Even if that was dismissed simply, there is no pattern. Every serial killer has a pattern whether they know they are forming it or not."

Naruto's top lip curled up awkwardly, "You know too much about that."

"And you know too little to be a detective." Gaara replied in his usual drone voice, adding a slow blink in the equation.

"He's right," Shikamaru added slowly, "I researched serial killers the other night."

Naruto frowned, his brow creasing as he sunk into a deep thought, "Well…"

"We can all go back to our normal lives and pretended this never happened?" Kiba suggested with a grin, which was firmly erased by Naruto's rough jab.

"If you do that, everyone in town will fucking die!" Naruto barked loudly.

Kiba jabbed his pinky in his ear in attempt to drown out the noise, "I get it, I get it. Let's just move everyone and call it a day."

The blond jabbed his arm again, the same spot and causing Kiba to wince, "There have already been talks of evacuation. This isn't funny anymore."

The room fell silent as three sets of eyes drifted towards the snappish blond.

Kiba shook his head and waved his hands in front of his body before slamming them on the blond's dining room table, "Evacuation?"

Shikamaru worked the muscles in his face to frown, "Konoha was once known for peace. This is getting out of control."

"What's your father doing about it?" Gaara finally pushed the breakfast away, deciding not to dance with death.

Naruto sighed. "As Mayor, his hands are tied now. People are stepping in from all over the country."

"And so, you want to untie his hands and step on those people's toes and fuck us over." Kiba grumbled.

The blond shrugged, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Troublesome."

And this time, it wasn't only from Shikamaru.

* * *

"More rain is coming."

Sasuke looked up from the book that was perched in his lap; his legs crossed one over the other as his dark coal eyes stared with an empty expression.

"Juugo just got in." The woman chimed on in her ringing voice.

There was a shriek that ripped through the air from the floor above, causing the woman to glance up with a giggle and causing the raven to go back to reading his book.

"It's odd, wouldn't you agree Karin?"

The woman glanced back to the questioning voice with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue on with or without her allowing it.

"How we've disturb their living so, and yet they haven't changed one bit. They still don't cower in fear, but still walk the streets at night as if it were safe."

"Perhaps…" She paused, her lips quirking, "Perhaps they find it to be a fluke. Something that will fix itself. Something that's only temporary. Or am I wrong, Sasuke?"

Pale lips pulled into a smirk, his coal eyes drifting towards the window just as drops of rain began to patter against it.

"People notice."

And again, his smile pulled for a fraction of a second as he stared out of the window fading only at the thought of having to wait once more.  
_  
Soon, soon, soon_…

Soon felt so far away.

* * *

Author's Notes (long…very long):  
- The _Philly Phanatic_ is the Mascost to the Baseball team the Phillies. Obviously.  
- _Hambergaler_ is that guy with Ronald and the _McDonald's_ team. The awkward one…-pause- …never mind.  
- _Game Informer_ is a monthly magazine that combines all platform and PC games; gives you sneak previews, updates, and ratings.  
- _The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead_ was written by: _J. Gordon Melton_  
- _Vampires: The Occult Truth_ was written by: _Konstantinos_  
- _Vampires, Burials, and Death: Folklore and Reality_ was written by: _Paul Barber_  
- _Vampires and Vampirism: Legends from Around the World (Classics of Preternatural History)_ was written by: _Dudley Wright_  
- _Doc Martin_ are a brand of shoes/boots.  
-sighs- That was _a lot_.  
And once again, Updates, lengths of chapters and so forth are completely random and still undecided.

* * *


	3. To Lure Towards the Unthinkable

Chapter Three: To Lure Towards the Unthinkable

Author's Notes: One, a playlist can now be found on my profile. Comments can be left at the playlist if you want. You _don't_ have to listen. And _thank you_ for the reviews. They are so wonderful.

Warnings and Disclaimer: Can be found in Chapter One.

As perusal: We all might bump heads in this fiction concerning the plot (concerning _a lot_ actually). As of right now, roughly, I have an idea with what I want. Correction, from what I've seen from your reviews…we _will_. Roughly, right now, I have an idea that you all will voice your ideas of changing it and writing your own version. SO, I would just like to say if you don't like it, stop reading and please enjoy the other fictions on the site.

Chapter Three: To Lure Towards the Unthinkable

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"  
-Leonardo Da Vinci

* * *

"Sasuke, we planted the bodies in places in which these people can find them."

A smirk etched its way on the ivory face that was usually void of all emotion, his dull coal eyes staring down at the newest book that was spread wide open across his crossed legs.

"Closer?"

"Of course." Karin chimed.

The room echoed as the book was slammed shut, the hallow sound bouncing off of the blank walls in the empty room. Sasuke stood in front of the window as he clasped his hands behind his back, leaving the book behind in the plush chair as his eyes gazed unseeing.

"He'll be upset. So of course he'll come. I can't wait."  
_  
Soon, soon, soon…_

* * *

It had been one week, and now Naruto finally felt as if came up with a plan that best fit the situation in hunting down what is destroying a once peaceful city.

"I look like a jackass." Kiba grumbled.

"Nothing new, dog chow." Naruto bit back as he attended to the brunette's attire.

The man glared at the blond and growled through clench teeth, "I hope an army of _Ken_ dolls rape you in your sleep."

The blond stepped back with an eye roll and one last sweeping motion with his hands over Kiba's clothes, Naruto's tan hands dirtied with car grease.

The brunette huffed as crossed his tattered clothed arms over his chest, his eyes glaring down at the dirtied and torn jacket that covered the makeshift grimy shirt that hung loose from his body. The blond tapped his hand against Kiba's face as the dog lover glared at the disguise; smears of darkened grease smudging it on his face before running it over his hair.

"_Why_," Kiba ground out, glaring, "can't I be a walking by, casually drifting citizen on his way home from the office? Shikamaru would rather sleep anyway!"

The lazy genius opened a closed eye half-way, peering over at the loud nuisance that was bugging him in his own home. "Troublesome."

"What I think he's trying to say, is that you don't know how to work the equipment." Naruto said with his lip upturning awkwardly. "He has to stay in the van while Gaara has to be sent out to patrol our area if something seems suspicious."

"So…" Kiba sighed, almost rubbing his semi-clean hand over his dirtied face, "the plan is to not look too suspicious. You know, with two random hobos showing up and setting up camp and then the creepy stalker van down the street. Not to mention the psychopath that will occasionally stroll the park pretending to go home, because you know, that's so insanely common."

The blond glared as he looked up from cutting his pants that he currently wore, Gaara glaring up from the papers in his hand at the notion that he was said psychopath.

"Look, as of right now, it's the only way and we have to stick close. They mostly pick off women, but I sure as shit am not putting on a skirt and heels. This is the first step and we'll work from there."

The blond sighed, his f ace contorting from concentration, thinking back to the reports and trying to rip the thick material of his pants, "Eyewitnesses have reports of four different people, but the most common is a male. Tall, dark hair with a, what is to be described as, awkward style. Informative…anyway. Looks to be around our age."

"Awkward? The hell does that mean? Don't these people-," Kiba let out a frustrated sigh, "What about the others? Anything?"

"One female, two males. They come separately, but it sounds like they work together."

"Troublesome."

The three turned to see Shikamaru standing (for once), with a roll of tape in one hand, and a bundle of wires in the other. The group shared a few casual looks, worry barely flickering before Kiba stepped forward and relieved himself of his once clean shirt.

Once, as in, an hour ago before Naruto showed up.

"One is a recording device. It acts as a microphone so I can hear everything you say, but I'm also recording everything that's going on." Shikamaru place the small wire against the toned chest of the other male, pausing to yawn before ripping off a piece of the tape to firmly secure it in place.

"The next is a communication device so you can hear me." The lazy genius held up the tiny little ball that was held in between his index finger and his thumb and dumped it into Kiba's hand.

"Whatever I say, all three of you will hear it. Just place it in your ear Inuzuka, it won't get lost."

Naruto snorted loudly through the noise of ripping his sleeve, "Are you sure it won't fall into that abyss he calls his head?"

"You're one to talk."

Naruto looked up as Gaara glared down at the tie that hung around the collared shirt in annoyance while the dress shoes on his feet shuffled awkwardly on the floor as he stood from his chair. The suit jacket was buttoned up tastefully to capture the tie so it didn't flap away in the angry wind that blew just outside.

Naruto let out a cat-call of a whistle, which made the man glare in the blond's direction, "Who are you going home with tonight, baby?"

"You enjoy dancing with death, don't you?" Gaara hissed.

The blond perked up, flipping his hair dramatically, "The tango is what I prefer."

"Well tango your troublesome ass into finishing up. You're the last one that needs the equipment." Shikamaru flopped down onto the cushioned chair that was positioned in front of his computer desk with a relieved sigh.

"What about Gaara?" Naruto whined.

"He was here to help me test it."

"And he also gets ready in a timely manner. You know, he can put clothes on and talk at the same time. He also doesn't get distracted by dust particles reflecting sunlight." Kiba snickered at the line.

The blond looked away from the tiny microphone that was being taped to his chest with a scowl, allowing himself to raise his middle finger up towards his friend and stick his tongue out at the same time.

"I'm not distracted, milk bone, I'm taking in my surroundings for purposes of my studies as habit from my work field."

"He's distracted." The group droned in unison.

"Well Naruto," Shikamaru sighed from his chair, reaching forward on his desk and grabbing a hearing piece, "tonight wouldn't be a night to get distracted."

* * *

"Aren't you going out tonight, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked away from the book shelves that lined the wall in the study room of the second floor; the door second on the left down the hallway. His fingertips rested on the spine of a random book from where he was once skimming for something new to read before he was interrupted.

"Not yet, Suigetsu."

"I thought you said you wanted to hunt a lot. Be prepared for something…"

Sasuke withdrew his fingers away from the books and turned around fully in a slow motion, his eyes crawling slowly along the floor till they landed on the annoyance across from him.

"I'll be going later." He stated simply, his eyes glaring harshly in warning from Suigetsu for being so intrusive.

The raven turned back towards the bookshelf and began his scanning once more, desperate for something new to keep his attention entertained and distract him from the pain. His throat felt as though flames where licking at it from the inside out, ripping at it from the inside from incredible thirst. It cried out to him and begged for quenching in hopes to stop the pain, and night after night he could only dull and prolong it before it roared to life more so than before.

He reached his free hand up to rub at his throat absently as his eyes scanned the shelves in a natural human way, taking in each title slowly and calmly.

He knew how to calm the thirst that was driving his senses wild and slowly plunging him into madness. He knew how to kill the pain that he swore would be the death of him.  
But as the last step was taken, he knew tonight would be the night.

He would come.

* * *

"God I smell piss…" Kiba groaned as he rolled over under his pile of newspapers.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled in the van, allowing the word to echo off the aluminum sides and bounce into the microphone.

"Damn you to hell, Nara." Kiba muttered as he eyed the street, watching for anything suspicious.

"What's troublesome now?" Naruto asked gently, lying on his stomach and discreetly reading the comics of the paper that was supposed to be his blanket.

"Kiba's lying in pee." Gaara voiced in his dead tone as he flipped through his book.

Naruto snorted lightly, trying to repress his giggles as he eyed the ally to his left where the pile of Kiba shuffled around uncomfortably on the ground. The blond easily spotted the tiny finger that was unmistakably Kiba's middle one, and chuckled lightly again.

"Hour patrol. Gaara's coming out." Shikamaru mumbled after yawning.

Kiba snorted, "As if that's discreet. You know, him coming out of a van and all."

Shikamaru sighed as he watched the red head make his leave, "The location is discrete enough. Now stop your complaining and roll in your urine."

Gaara clutched the briefcase that was in his left hand as began to walk down the sidewalk that held his two friends posing as the homeless. He casually walked as his dress shoes clicked against the hard walkway, his eyes scanning the night for anything that seemed out of place or anyone that seemed suspicious.

"Checkpoint one. Nothing." Gaara droned under his breath.

"Nothing." Shikamaru relayed.

Naruto turned in an uncomfortable position on his bench, watching as Gaara approached quickly in a breezing motion, acting as though he was in a rush to get home and worried to be out at the late hour. The blond watched behind him, checking carefully for any signs of danger that someone might have followed him and tried to come up from behind him. Naruto let out a loud yawn at an obnoxious level, while Kiba coughed from down the ally, the two signaling that it was safe from their perspective.

"Idiot checkpoint, clear."

"Nothing." Shikamaru eyed the clock in a wishful manner.

Gaara continued his walk, knowing where he has to continue before turning back around and coming back, acting as if he forgot something.

"Person."

Shikamaru looked towards the small box on the makeshift counter and eyed it carefully, waiting. The man leaned forward, "Stand by."

There was a long pregnant pause, the group holding their breaths as they waited for any sign from Gaara.

"Match."

Shikamaru cursed under his breath, "Naruto, we have a match on one of the suspects. By the time, he should be forty-three feet up the walkway. Kiba stay at your post and call for backup. I'm brining the van around. Be careful you troublesome idiot! Gaara, do _not_ approach without Naruto!"

The blond jumped up, slipping slightly on his tattered jeans that now hung awkwardly. The blond jogged ahead, his hand feeling for the gun that was concealed under the layers of clothes and tried to calm his breathing and panicking thoughts that shouted paranoid lies.

He caught sight of Gaara under a street light, his briefcase still clutched in his hand and his feet braced as if waiting to fight. Blue eyes landed on a figured that lingered in the shadows past his friend, the murmuring of voices told him that Gaara was most likely addressed despite what Shikamaru told him.

Naruto sided up to Gaara and took a business like approach to the conversation, "Sir, I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but we're going to have to ask you to head home."

The blond took a step back, his hand sliding into his clothes as the figure took a step towards him and Gaara. There was a deep rumbling chuckle, the noise enticing and hypnotic, enough so that it made Naruto falter in withdrawing his gun.

"I apologize for scaring you two gentlemen. I didn't know it was such a crime to enjoy a stroll." The man continued his hands held up in front of himself in a surrendering way.

Naruto shook his head slightly, "I'm sorry sir, but I'm guessing you don't watch the news much?"

The man came into view within the small circle of light that had been created by the street light that hung over head. Naruto watched as a pale hand came up to flick a long ponytail over a perfectly sculpted, broad shoulder as his pale pink lips drew into a discreet smile.

His hand ran over top of his head over alluring raven-black hair before dropping, his coal eyes sparkling with ill-intent, "My apologies. I'm from out of town."

The blond nodded slowly, "Well _Mr._…"

The man chuckled again, the sound sending a chill up Naruto's and Gaara's spine, "Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha."

* * *

Author's Notes: Maybe that answers questions? No. I know it still makes you wonder what the hell is going on. _I_ wonder what the hell is going on.


	4. A Smile in the Moonlight

Chapter Four: A Smile in the Moonlight

Author's Notes: Technically, I'm still 'hiding' I guess you would call it, but I promise I'm coming out from under my rock rather soon. But, seeing as it is my twenty-second birthday, I felt the need to update _something_. This, being a new favorite, has been chosen with a little love.  
And, Otakon still hasn't lost its touch. It was just as fun as last year...and in '05. Ah, addictions.

Warnings and Disclaimer: Can be found in Chapter One.

Dedication: Taylor, I thank you not only remembering my birthday, but checking on me constantly.

Chapter Four: A Smile in the Moonlight

* * *

"I do thank you for the courteous gesture gentlemen."

"Almost jumping you in a park?" Kiba snorted.

"He was talking about the coffee, stupid." Naruto responded, slapping his friend upside the head.

The group sat in the back of _Denny's_, a waitress seating them with a face colored with a deep blush and her lips spilling giggles as she took the group in.  
Naruto eyed his menu with an adoring look, taking in the pictures of eggs and sandwiches and platefuls of hearty and unhealthy foods. A beeping echoed off of the poorly padded seat in which Naruto sat on, his phone giving off a great beep and silencing again, his concentration on the menu never wavering.

The group around him waited and Gaara spoke up, "Aren't you going to check your phone?"

Naruto's dazzling blue eyes left the menu for a faction of a second to eye his friend, "It's probably Tsunade again, trying to yell at me for a false alarm."

Just then, Kiba's phone began to dance lightly across the glassed table top from where it once sat, the group exchanging glances.

Naruto piped up from behind the menu as he flipped a page, "That would be Jiraiya, wanting to chew Kiba out for the back-up call. Just ignore the old bat, he'll rest back up on that tree branch of his and fall back to sleep."

Itachi let out a small chuckle, "I must say that you are quite an interesting bunch."

Shikamaru propped his head up on his hand, lazily letting it sit there was his eyes rested peacefully closed and only opened them when he was directly addressed. He barely listened to the conversation around him, wondering when he was allowed to leave to go home and return to his bed, and wake up to stare at the glorious clouds.

Shikamaru cracked his left eye and glanced at the man next to him as Itachi lifted his mug to his lips, the group going on about how they were indeed weird, and Gaara stating quite calmly he wasn't with them.

The lazy genius eyed the mug as it was placed gently on the table without an iota of sound, and without so much of a drop of the liquid out of place. Shikamaru calculated it in his head rather easily, over the past hour.

He closed his eyes and replayed the sounds that had gone on at their table since arriving. Naruto lifting his glass seven times, getting a refill, lifting it six, getting a refill. Kiba lifting his glass once, getting a refill, lifting his glass once more, and getting another. Kiba lifted his glass three more times on the new one before settling contently. Gaara on the other hand took slow and polite drinks from his cup of coffee while Kiba and Naruto downed their sodas like unaccompanied children. He sipped his coffee eight times before his cup was refilled.

Itachi, on the other hand, Shikamaru went through, sipped from his glass eleven times, and it was still as it was from the moment the waitress had dropped it off.

Shikamaru righted himself in the booth and opened his eyes, crossing his arms in a loose and lax manner before turning to Itachi with a bored expression.

"So, Mr. Uchiha, if you don't mind my asking, why are in you Konoha in such a dire time for our town?"

Itachi's dark, alluring coal eyes shifted to the bored man, and their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before a smirk became apparent. "My little brother."

* * *

"I'm not telling him." Came the whisper.

"I'm not." A voice whispered back.

"I enjoy this so-called life we linger in." Another whispered harshly.

A silence fell in the room where three figures stood, as still as if they were statues, and not breathing as if they were dead. There was a growl that rumbled somewhere and echoed lightly off the walls in the pitch black room, and two sets of eyes rounded on the other in a commanding look for silence.

"If he hears us, we'll never wake again."

There were barely audible footfalls in the room as one of the lifeless figures moved and began to pace. "Someone has to, he'll know soon enough…"

"Let him find out on his own!" Teeth were bared in the darkness and were reflected in the tiny moonlight that seeped through the cracks here and there. Two pricks of daggers that promised death flashed, warning the others of fright and anger before disappearing.

"He'll claim betrayal."

"And if we tell him, his anger will serge...nothing will stop the killing spree he'll set out on." The whispers were becoming more harsh and animalist, the rage and fear not being able to be withheld in their voices.

The third voice spoke up once again, "But our loyalty to Sasuke and this coven have been spoken. We tell him together."

"Damn you Juugo." The two other voices whispered almost silently.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sasuke let his index finger dance languidly around the window pane as the moonlight bathed him and lit his settled features. Books were strewn about on the floor behind his feet and all across the room. Their pages wide open and waiting for him to continue. Book after book of intrigue; mystery, murder, drugs, sex, politics…everything that the mind could want, nothing could distract him from the pain that enwrapped his throat.

It felt as though claws and nails were being dragged down his throat while flames licked their way up in their pitiful escape out. He'd given up trying to dull the pain, nothing worked anymore. His usually racing mind had met an unnatural sense of calm and understanding towards the searing pain that plagued him at all hours.

A part of him enjoyed being calm, enjoyed that part of him that was no more restless and constantly in the need of quenching something. A part of him wondered if he had gone mad from the thirst, and he wondered if his immortal life would end.

His finger barely faltered as he heard the troop of footfalls come towards the study where his nights usually lingered on, and he turned with his finger never leaving the window to watch the rest of his coven walk through the door.

Their heads were bowed towards the floor, and Sasuke's mind was telling him it wasn't for respect but fear and failure.

A squeal ripped through the air, it was high and pinching on regular nerves as Sasuke's nail dug into the glass and screeched along the pain in a long circular motion.

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he extracted his hand from the window and took a few steps forward and spoke in calm, lulling whispers, "Yes? It seems you all are rather upset."

Karin looked up from the floor, her eyes flicking back and forth from the ground that was still littered in literature, "There is but a problem."

"A problem?"

The group winced when Sasuke's teeth snapped viciously at the dirtied word, and Suigetsu spoke next, "We'll have it fixed."

"What problem?"

Juugo dared to say it, "Itachi."  
_  
Soon, soon, soon…_

His mantra faded and died in the back of his mind, and his throat roared in a frenzy of pain that almost buckled Sasuke's knees.

Instead, he forced out a sigh and simply closed his eyes, turning back towards the window in one sudden flash of movement, sending the books flying in the air and landing with flutters and thuds to the ground.

"I suppose…" He sighed, his head shaking barely, "I suppose this has gone on far too long."

Karin dared to speak, her whimsical voice hopeful, "What?"

There was silence before the first flash of movement that left the window suddenly empty, giving the moon a clear view of the first splash of crimson that burst and splattered the wall and littered the books. The group had obviously just fed as another splash of blood speckled the ceiling. No screams littered the air, and no footsteps of running graced the ground. They had marched towards their death.

In the moonlight, a slaughter brutally graced the study.

* * *

Naruto awoke the next day to the sounds of banging on his front door, and he grumbled under the orange comforter with a curse. He was quite warm and comfortable, and the fact that someone was rude enough to wake him made him want to shoot them.  
_  
Bang. Bang. Bang.  
_  
Naruto blindly reached forward from the couch where he had collapsed after finally returning home at the early morning hours of dawn, his hand slamming down on the coffee table with its own sort of dull bang. He let his hand sweep up and down the table before it met the chilling handle of his .45 pistol and he let his tired fingers wrap around it.

He fumbled off the couch, ignoring the fact he was in his neon boxers only and stumbled towards the door and double checked that the safety of his gun in fact was on before he began his wrestling with his locks.

He turned three knobs, undid two chains and pressed in the code for the alarm before opening the door and putting himself in the proper stance and pointed the gun at the offenders of Justice (and sleep).

Kiba instantly moved his head, Shikamaru's eyes flew to the safety, and Gaara looked like he was mentally calculating Naruto's death before the blond dropped his stance and smiled almost drunkenly.

"Is this how you greet your father?" Kiba snapped as he stepped inside.

He shrugged, "Yeah, why?"

The group made their way past the blond, glaring him into an early grave and mumbling things about '_blond's, gun's and bad idea's_'.

Naruto jimmied the slide of the gun and popped the bullet out of the chamber and slapped the safety on before slapping the door shut and wrestling with the locks. The blond wondered into his living room to find his friends making themselves comfortable; Kiba having grabbed drinks, Gaara putting his feet up on the table, and Shikamaru laying out folders.

"Good morning my welcomed pests." Naruto grumbled as he flopped on the couch in between Kiba and Gaara, eyeing Shikamaru across from him.

"We have some information on Itachi Uchiha and this supposed brother."

Naruto yawned and scratched at his bare stomach as he glowered at the talkative genius across from him, "Why couldn't this wait?"

Shikamaru tossed a photo on to the coffee table with a frown, "We've done some research. I have. The closest Uchiha we could find under Itachi with a brother named Sasuke was indeed the one we ran into last night. That just so happens to be his brother."

Naruto picked up the photo with a tired frown, that quickly changed to awake and surprised. He noticed the dark hair with the awkward hair style, and he knew where this was going.

"A match?"

"A clue.'

Naruto turned to Gaara, "Go on Watson."

Kiba sighed, "That was the last known photo taken of Sasuke Uchiha. And here is the last known photo of Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke's dates over a hundred years ago, and Itachi's is just a little over eighty."

The blond frowned picking up the other photo, "These things are ancient."

"And so is their case." Shikamaru spoke again, "Their damn troublesome case."

"What?" Naruto tossed the pictures back onto the table and shook his still sleep-fogged mind.

"Itachi Uchiha told us he was in town to see his younger brother, do you remember that?"

Naruto nodded along with Gaara and Kiba who hadn't been brought in on the final touch of Shikamaru's clues.

"According to any record I've come across, and our biggest problem yet, is that they died." Shikamaru sighed deeply, "Over three _hundred_ years ago."

* * *

Sasuke put the tip of is index finger to his lips, the tip of his tongue coming out and tasting the crimson the dirtied the tip. He yanked the finger away and spit out the taste with his features twisting in disgust. He pulled in air forcefully into his deadened lungs, forced out a sigh, and wiped his newly dirtied hand on the window he usually peered out of while he was lost in his thoughts.

He spoke to the dead silent room that was glistening with red, lightly stepping over the corpses that lay in his way.

"Now," He spoke in a calm voice to no one, "I can finally go and get what is rightfully mine."

* * *

Author's Notes: -hums- Happy birthday to me, pissing my readers off, no please…Happy birthday dear Nevi…you better run for you life. –snort- Please don't kill me. I'm getting a move on, I swear.


	5. Death is but A Word

Chapter Five: Death is but A Word

Author's Notes: For those of you who have been waiting, but who aren't aware (and yes, I'm shamelessly promoting), I have _finally_ posted the sequel to ALLTF. So, in celebration – I give you something not in relation! XD

Dedication: I have to say everyone who reviewed and who is enjoying this fiction as much as I'm having fun writing it. I thank you.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Can be found in chapter one.

Chapter Five: Death is but A Word

* * *

"So wait…" Naruto shook his head, trying to gather his bearings, "You're telling me the guy I met last night _died_ over three hundred years ago?"

Shikamaru sighed, "I'm admitting that your crazy and over-the-top theory is the closest thing we have to a lead."

Naruto blinked rapidly, "Wait, are you admitting-"

"I said it once and I won't say it again." Shikamaru stated firmly. "Now, as of right now, I noticed he won't drink or eat, but that was _one_ observation. We'll need more. He was only out at night, but again, more observations are needed."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Kiba waved his hands wildly in front of himself as he shook his head; sounding exasperated as he continued to speak, "Are you telling me _you_, Nara, are actually going with this theory of _Vampires_?"

"Immortals. Living dead. Vampires. Zombies. Whatever you want to call them or whatever they are, _yes._ I'm going with Uzumaki's theory."

"Oh hell." Kiba deadpanned, "Everyone is losing their minds one by one."

"Well then," Gaara said in his usual flat tone, with his usual impassive face, "We'll need to get back in touch with Mr. Itachi Uchiha for further observation and questioning."

Three sets of eyes turned to the blond who held up the two copies of the crumpled and aged black and white pictures that were faded and he threw them back down once more and nodded once.

"Agreed."

* * *

"It seems as though…" There was a dark and bone chilling chuckle that rattled the air, "My little brother knows I'm here."

The only noise that lit the air afterwards was the loud bugs that _chirp, chirp, chirped_ together in a loud orchestra. Nightlife roared at full strength as random woodland animals made their presence known simply with the rustling of leaves on nearby branches of tress and in bushes.

There, in a clearing in the wood stood a small gathering of men – only four, Itachi among them. The moon hung high and bright in the sky, threatening in but a few nights to be full, and chase them inside for an entire night.

Itachi turned soundlessly and at a calculated speed, his face it's stony nothing of emotions as he looked at the three whom he now faced.

"Who was going to tell me? And when?"

It seemed a rather innocent and easy enough sentence, but the bone chilling and mind rattling tone would halt any excuses or lies.

"It was his coven." A taller blond spoke rather quickly. His long blond hair parted to be half up and half down, half his face covered by a long curtain of flowing hair.

"Deidara has decided to speak of the obvious." Itachi spoke what seemed to be, to anyone else, calm. The other's eyes shifted uneasily.

"It seems as though, they are looking out for him. He seems-"

"Weak." Itachi smirked lightly, his tone matching, "Kisame has _also_ chose to speak of the obvious. What a wonderful trend."

"They spotted you. Seems you were with someone of great importance. We went to move in on them, but as soon as they saw you with this mortal, they fled."

"And it seems as though Sasori knows far too much for his own good…" Itachi looked towards the moon, glancing for a moment and pulling a frown. "Well, we all knew this night was going to come I suppose."

Deidara kneeled, bowing his head, and his curtain of blond hair parted, covering his face.

"We have someone who is rather wise." Itachi said, still gazing at the moon almost thoughtfully.

Kisame turned, showing his back and Itachi hummed, "And we have someone who is horribly brave to an ignorant degree."

Sasori straightened himself, his eyes facing forward, and he nodded once.

"And we have someone who is…" Itachi turned, his eyes blazing a violent red, "Volunteering first."

To grace their world that seemed never ending, full of dread and sorrow, death was the most peaceful resort.

Especially to silence those who wished to speak of something they shouldn't.

* * *

Sasuke looked up from the black silk shirt he had just finished buttoning up, his eyes searching the opened window across the room, and his face tilting back. He inhaled deeply through his nose and swallowed deeply, his jaw going slack before it snapped shut. He tried not to frown, seeing as though night had just fallen, and blood had already been spilled, but he was the one who hadn't caused it.

Tonight would have to be the night he would have to make his move.

* * *

There was a light tapping on the door, softly rapping the tan knuckles on the bronzed nameplate that was fastened to the door.

"Come in!" The voice called back rather unenthusiastically.

Naruto grabbed at the door handle and twisted slowly, a grin crawling on his face as he cleared his throat and imitated Jiraiya's voice to perfection, "Minato, you seem to be slacking."

"Son," The man called from behind a few tall stacks of books, papers, files and what Naruto was guessing a computer, "you're a horrible actor."

"Thanks dad." Naruto grumbled, shuffling into the office and making a mocking face with silent words slipping past his lips.

"Enough, Naruto." He father spoke in an commanding voice, still out of sight.

Naruto stamped his foot on the floor just as he reached the desk, "_How_!" He whined childishly, crossing his arms.

"It's a parent thing, I'm afraid." The voice called somewhat sympathetically with a hint of teasing. "One day…"

"Nope." Naruto said sternly, dropping like a stone in the empty chair in front of the desk, "I hear those horror stories that you call my childhood. Did I _really_ manage to throw the car in reverse?"

There was a sigh, "Twice. Your poor mother. Thank God for insurance."

"And there is that whole rule of thumb that your child comes out ten times worse than you…what were you two thinking? Were you really that mad at the world, pop?"

There was a booming laugh, and the man that was hidden revealed himself as he stood, placing his hands on his lower back and leaning back slightly followed immediately by several loud pops.

Naruto looked up in what seemed to be some awkward mirror with a smile, "Hours hunched over a desk?"

"Yeah."

"Pissed mom off?"

Minato threw his son a dirty look, "Maybe."

"It's a 'son' thing dad. Kids know. Not to mention I called the house looking for you and that was like calling and looking for death himself. Bravo."

"What do you need, son?"

Naruto tossed his father a cheeky grin, "A lifetimes supply of money, a nice vacation spot, a sweet car, a sweeter woman-"

"_Naruto_…" Minato said in a warning tone as he rounded his desk and looked to find a place to lean against it.

"Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to come by and have a little chat, that's all."

"Little chat and you have never happened. I blame your mother." He added as an after thought.

"You both have big mouths, don't start," Naruto mumbled, rubbing at his temples, "I came to talk to you about those missing person cases and murder cases."

His father turned, the same surprised look Naruto's friend's always teased him about was showing on his father's face. His eyebrows seeming to be at war with either knitting or raising, his lips twisting awkwardly, trying to keep sealed, and his nose twitching because he already knew something.

"I think mom should stop going to work." Naruto said flatly.

"Kushina won't be happy." Minato said simply.

"I know. But, it's getting too dangerous. I can't have mom being plucked away out from under our noses."

"No, I'm saying she won't be happy that you'll still be involved in something that you're obviously saying is becoming even more dangerous, and you want her to stay pent up in our home. She'll kill you herself."

"At least her murder is that with the love of a mother," Naruto commented dryly.

"Well, I have to say I will help her." His father commented offhandedly, as a rather high pile of reports toppled over on the floor.

"What?"

"Well, if you're here to say it is getting this dangerous – which you are – but you're still going to continue to get involved, I'm not happy."

Naruto pursed his lips and glared, "That's-"

"That job! I know, but-"

"I suggest you watch yourself too." Naruto cut in, "I already got the old perv sending some people over to watch you. You'll never notice them."

"_Naruto_…" He growled the warning again, looking away as he felt his back bumping a stack and feeling it swerve dangerously, but turned back just in time to see the door to his office snap shut.

Minato heaved a heavy sigh, and decided to head home early. He knew the wrath of his wife should be faced sooner rather than later. What did he have to look forward to after telling her their son was diving head first into something so dangerous he wouldn't tell them about it?

The couch.

* * *

It seemed as though these recent nights, more often than not, found Naruto in the company of three grown men, pouring over files and wondering why on earth he hadn't brought more damn ramen.

"These are all the things I could dig up." Shikamaru let out a wiry sigh, Naruto caught a 'troublesome' as he sat attentively across from him, "Separate files. One, each of course for the individual in question. One for Mr. Itachi Uchiha, and another for Mr. Sasuke Uchiha. The last and third file is composed from the research I collected, dating back as far as over three hundred years."

Naruto picked up the stack from the vast expanse of computer desk and looked over and down at his friend who was rubbing at his eyes tiredly, "You've done more than I ever asked…I hope you know that."

"Lets just say it's simple curiosity. No – troublesome curiosity."

"Amen to that…" Kiba muttered from the couch, flicking through a magazine.

"The folders go through various things. One thing that brought attention to me was the mass murder."

Gaara and Kiba looked up from the things they were doing; Kiba looking over the brim of the magazine he was reading, and Gaara looked up from inspecting one of the infamous cups of ramen, his stomach growling ominously.

Naruto slid off the couch from in between the pair, and found the floor and slid up to the table and looked up at the rather tired Shikamaru in waiting.

"Itachi Uchiha went missing soon after the mass murder of his whole family. Sasuke was the only one left alive it seems, and told the police back then that it was Itachi. It seemed Itachi was a great young man, and it seemed hard to believe he did it. Graduated school early, top of his class. Invented a few small things that have been vastly improved and overall renamed. He helped solve several big murder cases back in those days, helping his father who ran the police agency. He was like the town hero…" Shikamaru looked up and glanced at everyone and sighed, grabbing the pack of cigarettes absently and pulling out a stick.

"I thought you quit?" Kiba asked.

"I thought vampires didn't exist." Shikamaru muttered, lighting the stick and grumbling, "Anyway…"

Gaara and Kiba nodded, the two settling more comfortably now.

"Itachi left and disappeared, and … well, Sasuke didn't. He stayed in Konoha it seemed."

"Wait." Gaara said raising a hand, "Here?"

"Yes…Here." Shikamaru mumbled, messing his ponytail with a frustrated hand.

"The old abandoned estate across town, right?" Kiba inquired.

"Turns out, yes. That town landmark was indeed the Uchiha estate. Seems Sasuke left one day over _three hundred_ years ago…rumors flew that he was searching for Itachi, drawn in by revenge. Others said he was tired and weary of the people looking at him as though he was some hero for pulling through a great ordeal."

"And?"

"And what?" Shikamaru snapped at Kiba.

"And you need sleep," He mumbled, "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. They pop up randomly throughout history here and there. Their 'official' deaths date back to a Halloween three hundred years ago, but that didn't seem to stop them. Itachi even went as far as teaching at Yale. But, with the pictures and paintings as evidence, there is no doubt it's the same people."

"What's the plan?" Gaara asked, his voice revealing a note of worry.

"I've got one!" Naruto stated from the floor.

* * *

It was that Naruto get to know Itachi.

It was risky, with everything they thought they knew revolving around the theory of _Vampires_, but, they had no other choice in the matter. And, Naruto being Naruto; he firmly stated it was his case, he was the boss, and they had to listen or no paycheck. It was an immediate uproar, but then Naruto reminded them they weren't technically any type of any officer or detective, and they relented.

The blond finally left the '_Nerd Cave_' sometime in the early morning of the next day. He was guessing two seeing as how Shikamaru's only clock was on his computer, and his phone died (he claimed it hated him) right after he checked it around one-ish. He walked the rest of the way, more warily than the walk there, seeing as how he didn't have a car, but kept mentally reminding himself that the apartment complex was only a four minute walk at most.

He began humming a tune he would hear his mother hum in the kitchen as she would bake him sweets, and quickened his paces in slight paranoia, glancing over his shoulder every couple of seconds. Every noise he heard made him rather jumpy; the rustling of a bush from a restless chipmunk, the soft hooting of an owl who was rather hungry, and the crunching of the footsteps that was matching his own.

It was behind him suddenly, the footsteps that could keep in pace with him. He had suddenly become too frightened to look behind himself. He took a deep breath and reached for his gun, wondering if this would be the first time he really had to use it.

If it would even work.

He spun on his heel, his shoulders level and his arms stiff, his feet braced and his finger set gently on the trigger. His chest heaved in uncertainty, panic, and unease as his eyes raked over the sidewalk, racing and darting from where he heard the footsteps that had been falling with his own.

He gently lowered his gun, his arms stuttering as they would rise back up, and his shoulders relaxed as the silence of the night hit him. He wondered if it was just the echo of the empty street, and his paranoia getting the best of him.

But before he even had a chance to put the safety back on, there was a flash and flurry of movement that his eyes barely caught, and then his world went black.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Waking from being knocked out was always an uncomfortable affair. Naruto found it to be like waking with a hangover. Body and head aching from a fight with someone you can't remember, waking in a strange place and wondering _why, what and how_? He stole in a deep breath through his nose, which caused an awkward hissing noise to rip through the air. His cracked open his eyes which were graced only by the darkness of a room with two opened windows. He noticed it was still dark out, which meant he had been out for either a whole day, or an hour.

He sat up straight quickly, and his hand flew to his pounding head and the other to his sore neck as his face pulled into a grimace. He looked down and found himself lying on a rather antique looking couch and stood, jumping up as though a spark of electricity suddenly ran through the piece of furniture. Naruto's head spun for a moment, and in that time he closed his eyes, when he opened them, he noticed that one of the windows now had an occupant.

He swallowed hard, taking in the outline of the hairstyle and the straight line of the impassive lips. The dull black eyes and the framing bangs. It was like painting the photo with but a bit of color.

Naruto immediately took a step back and the back of his knees immediately hit the couch, the dull lips pulling into a smirk.

"Hello, Naruto Uzumaki…" Sasuke smiled, two spears of white twinkling in the moonlight of the study, winking in a hypnotizing deadly way, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto nodded dumbly for he already knew this, his forget-me-not blue eyes never leaving the intimidating teeth as they protruded from the light, petal pink lips that were tugged into the perfect smile. He wanted to look away, he wanted to run, he wanted to scream. But, even as he noticed this Sasuke moved closer, and his smile faded, something inside him had frozen Naruto where he stood.

"I've been waiting for this. How I'm so glad, soon came faster than I expected."

The words left Naruto's mouth before he knew what he was asking. It had been the question that had been surrounding their case. It had been something Naruto concocted to get his friends to follow along and play nice. And here he was…

"What are you?" He breathed out, shuddering involuntarily.

"I'm what plagues your nightmares of course. I'm what makes the hairs on the back of your neck rise," Sasuke continued his slow coarse towards the blond, his steps crunching on the ground loudly in the stilling silence, "I am what makes you look over your shoulder, too paranoid to go on. What lingers in the shadows, making you tremble. I'm what leaks into your nightmares, waking you with screams…"

Naruto shuddered when he noticed this person – thing – was only mere inches from him. He quickly took in his flawlessly pale skin, powder pale and porcelain like. He noticed the dull onyx eyes, dark and searching. The long framing bangs, black but tinted with the smallest traces of blue of the ravens that commonly haunted the graveyards.

He searched for the teeth, the daring teeth that seemed to only be but a figment of his imagination, until Sasuke smiled as if he knew what his eyes were searching for.

Naruto gasped as the teeth flashed in the moonlight, and Sasuke whispered harshly.

"A _Vampire_."

* * *

Author's Notes: As promised, I'm getting a move on, and the mystery is going to fade. Mainly because I'm not that evil…maybe. No? Oh, right…cliff hangers. Sorry.


	6. In Between the Lines

Chapter Six: In Between the Lines

Author's Notes: Oh this chapter… it was going to be the death of me. So I just gave up. Take it as it is before I burn it to hell.  
Also: There is a side pairing here that you might not agree with, and frankly, I don't care if you don't. I figured I would simply warn you, there is a side pairing. This is your chance _now_ to turn back.

Disclaimer/Warning: Can be found in chapter one.

Chapter Six: In Between the Lines

"The silence of a falling star  
Lights up a purple sky  
And as I wonder where you are  
Im so lonesome I could cry" – Hank Williams 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'

* * *

Shikamaru rolled over in his bed and was greeted by another body. He smiled as he recognized the long tresses of blonde hair and sighed with relief. For the first time it seemed he realized what stress the case had brought him; his shoulders were relaxing, his jaw was unclenching, and another sigh greeted him.

"You reek of cigarette smoke." She greeted groggily.

The lazy genius grinned into the small rays of light that peered in through the small high windows from the base of the yard, "The stress brings out of worst habits in all of us, Ino."

"That bad?" She sighed, stretching – shoving her hands in his face with a grin.

"I really think its in your best interest if you just go and visit you cousin for a little while, take a vacation from work and-"

"Wait!" She started, sitting up bolt right and showing off her bright tank top, "You want me to ditch town and leave you behind?"

"Troublesome." He muttered, smacking his palm to his forehead, noting the tone change.

"Don't give _me_ a '_troublesome_'. You want to stay here when it's horribly dangerous already, and you want to ship me off? Damn you! Why can't you just come along? Your safety matters too!"

Shikamaru finally sat up, his hair still in its high ponytail, barely a hair out of place as if it had practice, "I need to help protect the town, Ino. Do you want a place to come home to?"

She took in a great breath as if to continue the debate, but instantly deflated, her forehead knitted and her arms instantly shot in the air, "I just don't want anything to happen to you…"

"Troublesome woman…" He said with a shake of his head.

He reached out to stroke her hair, and perhaps ask her to make breakfast – lunch, due to their tardiness in waking – but at that moment Shikamaru's phone blared to life in a shrill ring.  
He turned towards it with a bored look, one hand scratching the back of his head and the other reaching for the phone.

He picked up and wondered if Kiba was calling to complain about something more, before his panicked voice struck his ear like a bullet.

"Naruto's gone."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It didn't take long for Gaara to drive and pick up Kiba, and Ino was made to stay despite the fact she was due to work. As far as he was concerned, everyone near and dear to them was to be put on a lock down to be kept safe. Either that, or they leave town.

Kiba and Gaara both leapt down the stairs one after the other, running into the other and bumping roughly and looking in disarray.

They were both huffing and looking panicked and out of sorts.

"What's the story?" Shikamaru asked in a rather calm voice for someone who had a missing best friend and was half naked and in his polka dot pajama pants.

Kiba shook his head, his hand coming up to rub at it harshly as he began pacing, "I called his parents house casually, you know? Not to alarm them."

"I tried his house…" Gaara said lightly.

"We tried the office…" Kiba growled.

"Jiraiya." Gaara droned off.

"Tsunade." Kiba barked.

"Nowhere." The two said in unison.

Shikamaru sat down next to Ino, who had taken to sitting away from the three on the couch, and set his face in his hands. He closed his eyes with a shake of his head and let Ino gently rub circles on his back though she herself was worried – they all were so close to Naruto.

His mind was racing, trying to put things together, snapping a puzzle together though pieces refused to fit. Things kept falling apart and slipping through his fingers it seemed.

So, he decided.

"Twenty-four hours," He sighed, "Before we alert the mayor. We search – endlessly. We do _what – we – can_. Otherwise, Minato is to know within a day. Because otherwise under these crucial times, that instead of forty-eighty hours, that in twenty-fours hours if Naruto Uzumaki is not found than I will hereby officially state that he is _missing_. And…"

Shikamaru looked up from his hands, the words no longer muffled, "In immediate danger."

* * *

_Vampire_

That word seemed to echo on in Naruto's mind; the rest blank and dull allowing the word to repeat endlessly into the void. This _thing_; theory, illusion, twisted fairytale was all something he had been making up like he did every time. It was his sort of game to play, to keep his friends interested just enough, and then led them down just the right path to solve their mystery.

Now, here he was, facing something out of the deepest pocket of the darkest books. Nothing was thrilling about this; knowing his heart was hammering in his chest and most likely enticing it more. Knowing that he was trapped here, like some damsel in distress, in hopes his father or Jiraiya would possibly save him. Knowing that this creature that lurked in the shadows was real, truly in front of him now, and wasn't a figment of his imagination.

It was utterly terrifying.

That _vampires_ were actually real. And he was face to face with one.

"It said you were dead, the police file. You and your brother both. Missing is different than dead." Naruto stated confidently.

"Ah, right you are. Two people who took the time to fake their own deaths. Both at the same time."

The blond winced, "Halloween. Over three-hundred years ago."

"Right you are once more."

"I don't…I really don't understand. The pictures…" Naruto hesitated as he studied the man – thing – only a few feet away.

Sasuke looked over and smiled a devil's smile, bright and alluring, hypnotic and divine but condescending. "I expected as much," He said gently. "Often thought to be impossible is to take pictures of vampires. We…won't show up or some such nonsense. But, we are creatures made to blend with your society...save of course, a few fine details. It wasn't hard, but I grew tired of blending, and I was happy with living in the shadows. The pictures you had were the last we took, separate of course."

The wind wiped and bit at Naruto's face suddenly, his long blond bangs snapping harshly at his face as Sasuke sped past him, crossing the room faster than a blink of an eye. Naruto spun on his heel and found Sasuke at a window, as it seemed to be his favorite thing to peer around at the outside world as he spoke, his hands clasped almost peacefully behind his back.

"You see, I have seen _many_ things." He spoke quietly.

Naruto nodded, his shoulders tensing, "I could only imagine."

"You wouldn't want to, I'm afraid. My memories would haunt your dreams and poison them with nightmares."

"Try me." Naruto dared.

"Brave." Sasuke spat before chuckling, "How blinded you are with your ignorance. But, if you must…"

It felt as though there was but a simple flop in Naruto's stomach from just the words, but in a mere flash, he found himself sitting in a chair in the next room over. He realized that what he mistook as simple ringing in his ears was the whistle of the wind as it flashed by his ears.

The chair slammed back down on all four feet, having reared back on two at the force of Naruto's weight suddenly being thrown into the chair. His weight sent him doubling over for a mere second before he sat up straight and found Sasuke sitting across from him, his legs crossed casually, his head propped on his hand as he gazed in a bored manner at the blond.

"If it is too much for your brain to comprehend, then please, tell me," Sasuke smirked.

Naruto threw him a dirty look, feeling bold, "I can understand it, alright."

"Years ago, the leader of my family was a man called Madara." Sasuke voiced echoed around the room hollowly, his eyes dull, "The Uchiha clan was prestigious, well known and loved. Who turned Madara, I still have yet to find out that bit of information. But, he became greedy – like most – and wanted everything to himself. Control mostly. For years we thought him dead, buried amongst the rest of the clan who had past on."

Naruto watched as he heaved a sigh that seemed rather forced, and with more grace than any real human could pull off, he rose from the chair in which he had sat.

He walked casually around the room, still carrying on, "Madara was the one who turned my brother. The man you met."

Naruto swallowed thickly and then clenched his jaw with one nod for him to carry on.

"It was my brother who found a game in turning me." Sasuke whispered, barely pausing in his walk around the room, "I come home, and what do I find?"

Naruto settled back into his chair as if to find comfort when he heard the anger began to rise in Sasuke's voice, his footfalls beginning to drop and leave marks in the wood grain of the floorboards.

"My whole family, dead. A bloodbath, as if he did it to toy with my mind. I found him there at the estate covered in blood, and then he fled. A game. I was but a boy then, and so I set out to play I suppose."

Naruto felt his brow knit, "You aren't…"

"It seems as though you're smarter than you let on." Sasuke smirked, "I agonized over the loss of my entire family, and the knowledge of it being my brother. From being but a child, till I reached this so-called age of adulthood, and I finally tracked him."

Naruto swallowed, "How old were you?"

"In my twenties. I choose not to remember, age is only a number... It's been far too long, too many years have been tacked onto that frozen number I'm afraid."

"Okay…" Naruto said uncomfortably, watching Sasuke shake his head with that seemingly irremovable smirk.

"He knew I would come. He set it up, waited, and set out to continue this game. Were I was changed. Which is where I'm afraid, you come in."

"And were I get really damn confused." Naruto snapped.

Sasuke let out a false, barking laugh, "Not surprising."

"You are a bastard," His tone changed in a poor attempt to mock Sasuke's voice, "In which I hope you'll be able to find out to be true, good sir."

The raven stood in the spot against the far window, the moonlight bathing his pale skin in a praising way, "Humorous, but dimwitted."

Naruto growled, in what to him always seemed threatening, but to someone whom he knew to be a living – not really breathing – vampire, it wasn't _anything_. Except maybe annoying or funny.

"Vampires are damned to a life of immortality. Damned to go on while everyone and everything stays behind…" Sasuke continued, turning his head to look out the window and stare at the stares, "I'm sure you've heard at least this."

Naruto nodded, and realized Sasuke wasn't paying attention, and went to correct this mistake before the raven continued to speak. Naruto pulled a face of shock and bewilderment – he could hear him shake his damn head?

"Vampires, at some point, find themselves in a desperate state of utter and terrible loneliness. Hollow, pained and needing. We set forth to find something to fill this void. I'm sure you've heard of a coven?"

Naruto winced, "No."

"It is a group. A horrible rendition of a family."

"So, are you looking for a soul mate or a family?" Naruto boldly questioned, abandoning all pretense.

Sasuke chuckled almost darkly, "_Soul_ does not fall in our category. We are the damned, the soulless, and therefore thought to be the mate-less. But, we are creatures who find great comfort in a mate, in someone who seems to complete us…who seems to give us our soul back. But to answer your question, either."

"I don't get it."

"Vampires are all different. Some prefer the never ending life to be spent in solitude, while some prefer the covens. Others prefer to find their mate and their mate alone and enjoy their lives together from then on…"

"You…?"

"Only one thing and one thing alone will kill this, the thirst that has been crippling me. That will give me the strength to take down Itachi."

Naruto cocked his head to the side with his lips pursed, "That would be?"

"A mate."

"How romantic. Fall in love, drink their blood, and go kill your brother. What a honeymoon." Naruto croaked.

Sasuke raised a fine delicate brow as he turned back to look at the blond, "My _true_ mate will give me the strength if…"

"If what?"

"I kill them."

Naruto pulled a face of disgust, "What kind of love is _that_?"

Sasuke seemed to struggle for the right words for a moment, "It is what makes it the hardest thing above all else. Despite what I've seen, done and been through. To kill the one you care for above all else, the one who is destined to complete you."

"Just like that? You're going to find them and kill them?"

Sasuke was in front of Naruto in a flash, causing the blond to blink his startling blue eyes and smack back into the chair he seemed to be trapped in as the raven leaned over him. Ice cold fingers found his cheek and stroked at the smooth skin, tracing his defining scars, with a gentle touch, a pained look crossing Sasuke's face as he whispered into the still air.

"No, Naruto." He reached up and raked his fingers through the blond strands of hair that seemed to be his only sun, "I have to kill you."

* * *

Shikamaru's eyes roamed over the bright computer screen that lit the blackened room; his eyes watered and burning from prolonged use. He glanced briefly down at the clock that was located at the bottom right hand corner of the screen and momentarily glared at it when it read _'4:23_' in the morning.

He continued shifting through the seemingly endless amounts of data that he had collected, knowing that it now meant more than it had only twenty-four hours ago.

Now every single word was a key piece of information on getting a close friend back.

His eyes combed through the words; page after page and occasionally a picture would come along with the information that had been previously clipped alongside it. He would occasionally glance down at the clock as tiny windows at the top of the room began to leak light into the room.

He tiredly glanced back down at the clock once more, noting the time had now reached '_11:13_' in the morning, and in the back of his mind he absently went over the cases he had gone over with Naruto where the missing had died within the first twenty four hours.

It was then when he glanced back up at the next page that he had felt his heart drop, and the panic rose to a new point that he never new existed. He scrambled for his cell phone that sat right next to his hand; knocking it aside before fumbling in his scrambling hand and scrambling through the list of contacts.

His eyes raked once more over the contents of his screen at the information that he had stumbled upon, before a cracked and tired voice broke through the deathly quiet.

"_Hello_?" Kiba questioned tiredly.

"I think there is another one." Shikamaru muttered to the air or to Kiba, he wasn't sure. "Another Uchiha that's been randomly popping up like Itachi and Sasuke."

"Don't bullshit me…" Kiba whispered softly, trying to hide the fear that was seeping through his usually joking voice.

"Naruto could be with either one of them, and the likelihood of him being alive is dropping by the second…Call Gaara, I'm calling the Mayor."

* * *

Kushina hummed a peaceful tune as she stirred the contents of the bowl with the whisk, smiling gently down at the creamy substance and rocked gently side to side, her long red hair swaying along with her.

The phone's shrill ring echoed within the house, blaring through the peaceful quiet and settling her songs' melody, making her calmly set down the bowl and reach for the small cordless phone that was a foot away.

She barely glanced at the caller ID before picking it up and barking at the person who interrupted her wonderful alone time, "Yes?"

"_Is Minato there_?"

The woman paused, "Shika? Sorry for the tone, yes he's around here somewhere being shy."

Technically, he was hiding from his wife's wrath. It seemed as though sneaking up on her and surprising her with a giant _boo!_ And then clapping and laughing as she dropped and smashed a priceless family treasure seemed to not settle well.

"_It's urgent._"

She smiled softly, "Naruto being 'troublesome' again?"

"_No. It's urgent that I talk to the Mayor_."

Kushina hesitated, her mouth bobbing for her next teasing sentence when she found her son's friend's calling her house. Instead, she found a slight sense of fear prickling in the back of her mind. And before she knew why she was asking, she whispered the words.

"Is it Naruto?"

Looking back on it, she knew she would blame it on a mother's instinct instead of a woman's paranoia.

"_Yes…_"

"MINATO!"

* * *

Author's Notes: It's short, yes. But, I'm just chopping down the ol' mystery tree with my author's axe. It's a cool damn axe. –chop–


	7. Around My Neck

Chapter Seven: Around My Neck

Author's Notes: Even though the **warnings**can be found _back there_ I would like to point out there is a lot of religious talk in this chapter. Firstly, I'm not bashing, harping, or looking down upon any religious beliefs. It's a part of my _fiction_ and I hope you can respect that. If you feel as though you will get offended, then please, by all means, find another fiction.

Also: I know, I said I was going to be gone for ten days. I had a minute. I'm making time soon to update JRoP too. Huzzah.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Can Be Found Waaaaay Back There (In chapter one)

Chapter Seven: Around My Neck

* * *

Naruto pressed himself back so far in the chair it toppled over easily, kicking up dust from the ground that Sasuke hadn't even managed to startle. He scrambled backwards, kicking himself back as his hands carried him, looking horrified over the toppled chair at the man, or vampire, that smiled coolly at him.

Naruto's elbows bumped the wall, and he winced and hissed through his teeth before jumping when several pictures dropped to the ground and shattered loudly next to him on both sides. He continued to scramble up till he was sitting, back plated flat against the wall eyes wide and nose wrinkled with his mouth bobbing.

It took him a moment to realize, peering over the overturned chair, that Sasuke wasn't stalking after him like prey. He watched him carefully, still sitting in the chair casually, smirking cockily at him with a know-it-all look.

"You…" Naruto started in a tiny, whispering voice that sounded rather loud in the room and to his own ears, "aren't trying very hard."

Sasuke's chuckle reached Naruto's ears like daggers and he flinched, his eyes closing, and when he opened them, he found the raven hair beauty in front of him smirking, "No, I'm not."

Naruto yelled and backed up into the wall again, bumping his head with a hiss as he watched Sasuke stand up straight and take one step backward.

"Not hard at all." Naruto whispered as he rubbed at his head, mentally cheering his head didn't shed any blood.

Onyx eyes shrank into slits of a harsh glare, "Bold, aren't you? Laughing at death so open like this."

"You think _this_ is laughing?" Naruto whispered, still frightened at the tone.

"Then," Sauske crouched, like an animal ready to spring as his tone softened, his eyes returning to a normal stare, "what are your theories, detective? As to why I'm not killing you?"

Naruto swallowed thickly, too scared to move another inch, and terrified to speak any louder, "You…can't?"

Sasuke's smirk grew slightly, into a taunting smile that made Naruto feel as though he was going to vomit and caused the color to drain from his face. Sasuke stood straight again in another moment that was faster and more eloquent than any human could ever pull off, leaving the blond blinking long golden lashes to question what he saw.

"Don't question it," Sasuke said softly, as if reading his mind, "don't question any of it. Accept it as fast as you can seeing as I'm giving you all the answers. "

Naruto nodded dumbly, his mouth hanging open before his mouth, bestowed upon him by his parents caught up with him, "Sorry the word _shocked_ isn't in the vampire vocabulary."

Sasuke raised only one eyebrow at this sentence, "Mocking death then?"

"If you want to kill me, teme, kill me!" Naruto snapped, knowing his mom, if she could hear him now, would beat the vampire to the punch before he could even comprehend what the blond had said. A mother's anger was more terrifying than even this.

"Well, _dobe_, as you can see I don't want to do that yet." Sasuke said softly, kicking up Naruto's knocked chair with his heel and having it pop right up and rattle back into place.

"Wh…wait, what?" Naruto said, standing.

It felt odd, standing on unsteady legs two feet away from something that was unmistakably inhuman. His knees were giving questioning wobbles, asking for permission to give out and let him collapse, while his backbone was fighting with them every second.

The dark stare was piercing, but not as if it were going through him, as if it were trying to read him entirely. Something about it was eerie, frightening and bone chilling; but something about it was calm, patient and understanding. Naruto had a feeling it was two knocks to the head in one day that was making him feel like this. A vampire was a creature of the darkest times – a killer.

"Ask."

Naruto realized then that he had never heard such a soft but commanding tone in his life, like there was a drug laced in the melody that emitted from his lips. It was hypnotizing.

"Why…are you not killing me?" Naruto said, his blue eyes searching, though they soon suddenly found a back.

Sasuke had taken to walking away from him, and then to pacing so Naruto could see him. He looked as though he was in deep thought, but Naruto couldn't say as to why. He provoked the most obvious question for a reason, so why did he look as though he was lost. His eyes looking but never seeing, searching the floor endlessly as his boots left endless prints in the dust. He raked his fingers through his hair and Naruto felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine as he watched the action. He watched the long, slender digits pull back the curtain of the black-blue bangs before finding himself snapping out of a stupor or a trance.

"I'm not killing you for a simple reason, I can't touch you."

"Bullshit." Naruto snapped before shrinking, trying to merge with the wall, "You touched my hair, and you know, wild stab in the fucking dark here but I'm guessing you carried me here. Both from one room to this one and on my way home."

Sasuke gave a derisive chuckle, "I wouldn't be bold for long, _dobe._"

"I'm not being _bold_." Naruto whispered, watching him pace still, "I just have this issue controlling my tongue."

"Hn." Sasuke barely paused, Naruto watched his boot hover over the ground for a second or two before he continued. "Keeping asking."

"Why…?" Naruto swallowed, and he watched coal eyes flash to his throat, which made him grimace. "Uh…Why can't you touch me?"

"Reword it."

Naruto was tempted to snap again, but rolled his tongue to keep himself from lashing out. Why didn't he just come out and say everything instead of walking around the words.

"Are you not allowed to say things unless I ask?" Naruto boldly said.

"Certain things." Sasuke said, turning as he met a wall.

"Okay." Naruto nodded slowly, the shaking of his body finally starting to calm just slightly. "What…?"  
Sasuke nodded.

"_What_ happens when you touch me?"

Sasuke turned to face Naruto, his face still impassive and smooth like a marble statue that had come to life. He held out his hands, and Naruto felt himself pull in a quick breath, looking at the palms that had been burned harshly, still trying to heal.

"I can't kill you because you are protected, Naruto."

The blond stared up at him as he clasped the hands behind his back, and mentally reminded himself to ask as to how he learned his name.

"Protected? How?"

Sasuke frowned and turned away, "Your necklace."

Blue eyes instantly looked down at the small lump that was under his orange t-shirt, the lump that was always found underneath his shirt. A gift that he cherished.

A gift that now kept him alive.

"I don't under…stand…" Naruto slowed when he saw the floor boards cracking underneath Sasuke's feet as he began pacing again.

"You asked, why I can't kill you, so I'll tell you. That necklace you have in your possession, that same one that hangs around your neck protects you."

"I get that." Naruto said, his hand dipping into his shirt, and withdrawing the small crystal jewel and holding it up.

"Do you know where that necklace originates from?" Sasuke asked quietly, so quiet, Naruto had to strain his ears.

The blond looked up and his fumbling and shaking fingers and let the necklace drop, "No. It was a gift from my godmother."

"Human eyes cannot see what is imprinted on it." Sasuke said softly as he arrived at his window, gazing up at the moon, "You must look at it with something stronger than a magnifier."

"What?" Naruto grabbed at the necklace again and held it as close as possible to his left eye.

"Have you ever noticed how rough it is, though its appearance is smooth?" Sasuke leaned on the window frame and gently against the old glass window.

"What is it?" Naruto asked looking up, "What does it say?"

"Latin. Tiny inscriptions. They start with '_absit omen'_**, '**_Ad majorem Dei gloriam',_ and near the bottom is the last. '_Ave crux spes unica'_ next to the small cross that has been engraved."

Naruto peered back at the necklace with wide eyes, "This tiny thing say _that_? Wait! What is _that_? Or will like, the words hurt you or something?"

"I just spoke them." Sasuke said with a shake of his head, "One, _'absit omen_' means "Let there not be an omen here". '_Ad majorem Dei gloriam'_ means "For the greater glory of God.", and _  
'Ave crux spes unica_' means "_Hail to the Cross, our only hope_." And that is what is around your neck."

Naruto focused his eyes on Sasuke, "What does this thing mean?"

"It came from Pope Clement I." Sasuke said, evading the real question.

Naruto gawked, "Wait. That's like…_A.D_ were talkin'."

"The necklace, yes. It is the only one of it's kind. Said to be made to be given to the one who will save mankind from something said to be unstoppable. Something unthinkable."

Naruto felt bold enough to say it, "Your kind."

"Bravo."

"So what, is this some type of holy war?" Naruto had to ask.

Sasuke shook his head, "No. Just a regular war that is happening here on earth, the humans aren't involved like you might think, and where my greatest weapon cannot be used."

"Then I can run."

Sasuke looked away from the window, actually surprised, "Excuse me?"

"If I have this, I can run." Naruto said louder now, his voice quaking, "You can't touch me! It will kill you. If you hold on, if you try to drink my blood, I understand! You can't stop me."  
By the time he was standing up straight, he was found pinned against a wall by fear, a vampire inches from his face with his eyes screaming.

"Run? You don't think I can catch you? I took some injuries before for you. You don't think I won't mentally torture you till you come crawling back, no protection?"

Naruto glared, "Yeah, right."

"Your mother and father, easily distracted. Your three friends, so blind to the world around them. None of them would realize death was there till they crossed over." Sasuke whispered.

Naruto reached a daring hand up and let it hover near his face, "Don't touch them."

"Then think twice before running."

"You can't kill me anyway." Naruto said, biting back tears as he fougt away an imagine of his life as a pile of dead, rotting bodies.

"Can't?"

"Won't." Naruto changed, knowing the creature in front of him was calulating by the second how to get the necklace off, "You won't kill the one you love."

* * *

Shikamaru paused at the front door and sighed.

For once, the first time even, it wasn't because it was too troublesome. It was because he didn't know how to present the situation. A genius that didn't know how to do or explain something. Naruto had finally rubbed away from of his IQ points.

Shikamaru almost jumped when he felt a hand clap on his shoulder, but he heard Kiba sigh, and he saw Gaara reach for the door handle.

"They're waiting for us." Gaara droned on.

"Right." Shikamaru muttered.

"Stop feeling responsible." Kiba uttered, for what felt like tenth time in five minutes.

"Right."

"Hey boys."

The three looked up from the entry hall where they were currently slipping off their shoes and closing the door polietly behind them, and there in a doorway to the left a little way down the hall stood Naruto's mother.

She was in her apron, her hair spun up on her head in a large and messy bun with red tresses falling down in random places. Even from this distance they could see her puffy eyes.

"I've just been making lunch. Hurry before it gets cold."

"We aren't very hungry." Gaara said.

The three of them soon found themselves at the dining room table, cowering under the rather terrfying glare of Kushina and wondering how on earth Naruto did this for so long and made it out alive. They all looked up when they heard footsteps, and found Naruto's father walking in the room to stand next Kushina before he gave out a painfully forced smile.

"Ah, forced lunch?"

The three nodded, chuckling softly.

"Well, you might want to eat it. Or do you _want_ to see what happens?"

The two parents smiled lightly when the three men at table started reaching for random things and piling it onto their plates or even each others, then grabbing at their silverwear and shoveling it into their mouths.

They slowly watched as Kushina walked out the room after quietly sharing a few words with Minato, and then said man took a seat at the table himself.

"You can stop."

Three forks clattered to three sepreate plates, and all of them took quick swigs of the drinks that had been prepared. Gaara grimaced – he hated milk.

"Please," Minato said wairly running a hand through his hair, "tell me what's going on."

Kiba looked over and saw that everyone was exchanging looks, and decided that he should open the floor, seeing as he was mostly familiar with Naruto's father. He knew Naruto the longest, and he knew his family the longest.

"If you _really_ want to know Mayor, _really_ want to know the truth, then you have to believe every single word we tell you."

Minato then looked to Gaara, who Naruto befriended next, and he gave him the same impassive, stony look that he unusually had before nodding, "You have to."

And then to Shikamaru, who seemed to come right into Naruto's life just like everyone else, "Please."

"Alright."

All three of them started pulling things out of their pockets and from under the table immediately; books, files, reports, pictures and so on leaving Minato looking from one person to the other to the table.

"We," Shikamaru began as he spread things out, "are dealing with something that shouldn't exsist."

"That's supposed to be a myth." Kiba cut in.

"That will make you think we're crazy." Gaara said.

"_But_," Shikamaru continued, "We have…" He winced, "Proof."

"Uh…" Minato leaned forward and nodded, "Alright."

"Vampires." They all said in unision, and before the oldest could protest, Shikamaru continued.

"Uchiha. As Mayor, you should know of their manshion that is known to the town as a landmark."

"Yes," He nodded, his blond bangs sweeping acros his forehead, "The old creepy manor."

Kiba actually smiled when he shivered and rubbed at his arms, and was reminded of Naruto when they first walked by it when they were ten.

Shikamaru laid out the old picture, "This is Itachi Uchiha."

"How old is this?" He grabbed at the picture.

"Let's just say for the sake of time it's old…" Shikamaru sighed, "We met that same Itachi Uchiha from that painting a few nights ago with your son."

"The man that was the cause for the massacure? He died over three hundr-"

"WE KNOW!" The other three shouted, making Minato lean backwards.

"Look, M…" Kiba said, ruffling his own hair, "I know this sounds crazy, but _try_."

"This might actually help." Shikamaru said, sliding another picture on the table.

Kiba and Gaara exchanged a look, not noticing the picture or the faces.

Minato picked it up and frowned, "How'd you get a picture of him?"

"Because this troublesome vampire thing lead me to him. He hunts them. They're like trophies to him. Crown jewels."

"He left. He was practically banished for the things he did." Minato sighed, "Keeping it that way is for the-"

"Not the best. He can help us save your son."

There was a heavy sigh while Minato tossed the picture back acorss the table, and Gaara and Kiba examined the picture as they leaned closer to the table, while Shikamaru studied the older man across from him.

"If Orochimaru can save my son…then call him."

* * *

Author's Note: The necklace, I'm going to talk more about it neck chapter. More about the two of them…you know. So calm down. But it seems like the more I want to find an end to this fiction, I add more. Shit.


	8. To Beat for You

Chapter Eight: To Beat For You

Author's Notes: It's been awhile, but after the passing of my mother I just couldn't write. I posted a story that was pre-written to tied some people over, and after some pressing, I've tried writing. I'll warn you it isn't my best, and it might have made this story even more complex but I hope you'll all be patient… considering I keep adding things just to make it longer. Crap.

A simple request to hopefully calm the questions. Guys, I'll get to everything in due time. –waves hands- Ms. Plot development. Remember? Everything from the necklace, to how Sasuke knew he was his mate, to why Orochimaru is in my fiction. Aside the fact that I'm evil. Some of the questions had already been answered in the fiction, so just remember to read carefully, and be patient.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Can be found in chapter one.

Also: I'm making up my own thing (you know..._fiction_) with how Sasuke knows Naruto is his mate. Take it or leave it. Use the back button or not.

Chapter Eight: To Beat For You

"I don't want to kill you. What would I do without you? You complete me... You just couldn't let me go, could you? I guess this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of righteousness . . . and I won't kill you because you're too damn fun. _We're going to do this forever._"

- The Joker to Batman 'The Dark Knight'

* * *

_**  
**_Naruto pressed his hand against Sasuke face and grimaced instantly at the sizzling sound that met his ear and ripped his hand away at the instant heat that met the pads of his fingertips. It looked as though Sasuke's skin had been slashed and then peeled away leaving Naruto to unconsciously rub his hand on his pant leg.

Sasuke took a long stride backward, keeping his distance and placing his palm to his face, looking away from Naruto.

The blond puffed out his chest as if it would make him more fierce looking, "I-want-answers. Not death threats."

The blond clutched the necklace harder and only relented when the thought of drawing blood came to mind, and he took one daring step forward, "You'll answer my questions, or I'll do it again."

Sasuke nodded slowly, "Fine."

Naruto stiffened at the simple response, "Why…no, _how_ do you know I'm your…_mmm_ – _beloved_?"

Sasuke turned to face him properly, and Naruto flinched at the exposed muscle and gagged when it flexed as he spoke. "Vampires have many mates throughout their lives, attaching from one to the other. The never ending search to fill the bottomless void we have seemed to find ourselves with. Trying to find a replacement for our missing souls. But, every one of us has someone they are meant to be with for all eternity."

Naruto swallowed, trying to master a glare as fierce as the thing in front of him could wield, "How do you know?"

Sasuke didn't move, like a marble statue only a foot away from Naruto before he muttered the answer, "One single heartbeat."

Naruto blinked confused sky-blue eyes, "Excuse me?"

"I'm walking, talking but my heart beats no more. We know who our true mate is when it causes our heart to beat once and only once when they are born into this world. A connection. We are to find them."

Naruto paused, "We make you live again?"

Sasuke let his eyes connect with Naruto's, "In a way."

The blond smiled, determined to prove the vampire wrong, "Nice, I make you live, and you want me to die. But what about me? I feel nothing."

Sasuke smirked, "_Yet_ is but a wonderful word."

"Alright!" Naruto snapped, stamping his foot, "And what makes you so damn sure?"

"Your necklace." Sasuke whispered.

"Speaking of," Naruto said, still clutching it, getting off the uncomfortable subject, "This necklace is like a shield, right?"

"Yes." Sasuke spat bitterly.

"Explain it." Naruto said.

"You've seen how it works, and you've obviously tested its powers." Sasuke reached his hand up and touched at the opened wound, "I touch you or the other way around, it cuts open my skin and burns away at it. Your skin is like acid to me. The longer I touch you, the worse it gets. Normally, Mr. Uzumaki, vampires have healing powers beyond your comprehension."

"Why?" Naruto interrupted, "If your skin is like armor."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, silently inquiring where he learned the information from.

"My friend. The one you want to kill." Naruto growled. "He knows a lot about your kind. He said it's like stone."

"And like most stone, it can get chipped. By hunters or other vampires."

"Hunters? What the hell has been going on?" Naruto asked in a bewildered tone.

"Hunters ar-"

"Wait! This necklace first, before we get too off track!" Naruto said, holding it up. "Finish with the necklace. If you try to actually _kill_ me opposed to just touch me. You know…"

"Drink your blood?" Sasuke asked coolly.

"Er, yeah…_that_. Then what?"

Sasuke looked back out towards the window, "A vampire's greatest enemy above all else, is the sunlight. Nothing else can compare to it. Night and day have been battling since the beginning of time. We are the creatures of the night, exempt from the warm touch from the sun. The reason I can't touch you or kill you Naruto is because you hold the brightest object in your hand. Like holding a million suns. Drinking your blood would be like me walking out into the sunlight; more painful, and slower burning. That necklace practically puts the sun in your veins."

He took a deep breath, "So. You want to kill me to kill your brother, because the one you love will give you the power to do so, because supposedly I'm that guy, right? And to top it all off, there is some crazy vampire war that has been going on top of all that. Am I keeping up well enough?"

Sasuke smirked, making Naruto wince when his cheek gave a rather bad squelching noise, "You forgot your necklace."

Naruto let out a shaky breath, "I know it's hard to ask, but could you bare with me? It's all a lot to take in, in such a short period of time no less."

Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Alright," Naruto started slowly and unsurely, "Why aren't you allowed to say certain things unless I ask?" Naruto prompted.

Sasuke smirked, "Hn. I'm glad you finally asked."

Naruto unsteadily and uneasily sat down in the chair that Sasuke put back up, looking at him uncertainly in waiting and still clutching the necklace as it was his lifeline.

"Tell me." Naruto said softly.

By the time Naruto finished one blink, Sasuke was sitting across the room casually on the window ledge, one leg propped up as his foot pressed against the other side of the window, level with his chest and the other casually swung and gently grazed the floor. Each swing of his foot would gradually kick up more and more dust, bringing up a cloud that wrapped around his right leg. His hands were clasped together in his lap, his fingers entangled together in what looked like an iron grip.

"It goes back to the hunters. Why I can't speak of certain things." Sasuke said softly, staring down out the window as his eyes searched endlessly to the point it made Naruto rub at one of his eyes.

"They can keep you, seal you and treat you like animals. Ah, forgive me _dobe_…I mean us. Vampires." Sasuke said, causing a smirk to rise.

"I get it…_teme._" Naruto said, but still tightening the grip on his necklace praying it wouldn't break the skin of his palm.

"The most infamous hunter of all time was and still is Orochimaru."

"Wait!" Naruto held up his free hand, "I know that name."

"Think to your bosses." Sasuke said coolly.

Naruto smacked his palm to his forehead, "Their old partner! Him! The creep. He was kicked out of the town."

"Because when he claimed he was working on a case, he was performing experiments on people whom he claimed had gone missing and died." Sasuke said quietly from his perch. "He discovered our existence around his fifth year as a detective, and immediately began hunting. Hunters usually exist solely to kill, their lives dedicated to protect your kind from mine, but he-"

"There have been more?" Naruto asked, making a face at the almost casual air to his voice.

"Many. During this time and a time before him. But Orochimaru raised the proverbial bar. Out of his many experiments, he created what we vampires know as seals. Once placed on us, it seals away our secrets just for him. But there ended to be a loophole. A small one."

"The questions?"

"Yes. Between each other, we could of course speak freely, and to the humans, we only moved to kill."

Naruto raised up a hand, "Could you not? Like, just yet please? It makes me want to vomit."

Sasuke turned to glance at him and caught his contorted face of pain and sickness, "I apologize."

Naruto snorted, "So, the loopholes. Keep explaining them."

"Our mates."

"Oh hell."

Sasuke chuckled and Naruto blushed, forgetting yet again that Sasuke could hear far better than any human.

"So how did you figure it out? You know if vampires can talk to each other freely and all the stuff you just said."

"Karin. Another vampire." Sasuke paused, barely considering telling Naruto that they had been in the same coven and he killed her. One day, and maybe another time. "Her mate ended up being a mortal like you."

"You make it sound like an insult." Naruto said with a scrunched nose.

Sasuke paused for a longer moment than Naruto thought possible, and then realized that was his cue, "Why are you making it sound like an insult? What's wrong with a vampire and a mortal?"

"Forbidden."

Naruto swallowed hard, "Well that's easy enough. But you said when your mate is born into this world…Does that mean they are destined to become a vampire?"

"It is speculated, yes. But to your other question, we found out through her."

Naruto paused himself, wondering if he wanted to know how, and decided that he needed to, "How did they find out?"

"She tried to explain to him to leave, that it was a dire situation. She couldn't."

Naruto watched the usually stony face show a sign of emotion as it contorted ever so slightly with a twinge of hurt, his jaw muscle tightening under the porcelain skin to show his frustration.

"Wait, can you tell me things that they couldn't?"

Sasuke nodded slowly, "Hn. Some bonds are stronger than others."

"W-What…" Naruto took a deep breath in and out, "What happened to her, uh, you know…'man'."

"I do believe Naruto, you can figure it out."

The blond shook his shaggy head, running his free hand through his hair, "Back to these…these hunters. If they're supposed to kill you, why didn't he? Orochimaru."

Sasuke sighed, "The war. There is a war that has been waging on this Earth for centuries. At first, it was between the vampires. Between the uncivilized and the civilized. Then it was for territories. Then for sheer power alone. Humans became aware, fully aware, of us around that time. Being able to separate the fact from myth, through the war, the casualties, and solid evidence. Eventually the hunters got involved to try and stop it."

Naruto grimaced, "What evidence?"

"Vampires burning in the sunlight at dawn, people being drained of blood in the middle of a crowded street at night, and hundreds missing."

"It was that bad?"

Sasuke nodded, looking back over at him and taking in his paler complexion, "At one point in time, yes."

"Is it getting that way now?"

"Yes."

"So back to-"

"Orochimaru collected the best of the best." Sasuke started dully, as if he had said this too many times, but to whom Naruto didn't know. "He wanted to build an army that he wanted to be able to control himself. But even though he was the strongest, he couldn't tame all of us."

Naruto made a foul face, "Oh how cliché. An army."

Sasuke chuckled, a deep noise that made Naruto feel as if some veil was thrown over him and ripped away once it abruptly stopped. "Cliché, but powerful."

"And how can he be stopped?" Naruto asked, promptly excited at the thought of being able to save his town.

"It links to you, and the very last inscription on your necklace." Sasuke whispered, staring directly in sky blue eyes. Everything came back to it.

"_More_!"

Sasuke had gotten up from the window's ledge and sighed, turning to stare either out the window or perhaps the dusty and cobwebbed filled pictures, Naruto wasn't sure as he took in his back.

"The last inscription on the necklace is '_cor aut mors'_."

"What does it mean? More religious stuff? And could you get me a Latin dictionary or something if I'm a walking translation waiting to happen."

Sasuke turned halfway around, not daring to look at him this time, "You can figure it out on your own. I've already explained it. Some of it. How I explained our destiny together, the war, everything."

Naruto frowned, at the disheartened look on his pale face and with a frightening realization he noticed he was deeply upset for Naruto. Which sent his mind tumbling about them being fated to be together.

But Sasuke's voice brought him back to reality at the meaning of the last inscription, "Heart or Death."

* * *

"I thought we were like…you know, just calling this guy?" Kiba whispered as their footsteps crunched against the wet concrete of the sidewalk.

Shikamaru let out a sigh, a cloud of cigarette smoke billowing out into the still night air, "It's no use. He doesn't have a registered phone number. This is what we've got."

"This doesn't feel right." Gaara muttered under his breath, staring ahead of him almost distantly.

"I agree with Sabaku." Kiba muttered.

"Man up." Shikamaru snapped. "This is for Naruto."

Kiba turned to Gaara, his eyes slightly bigger than normal as they turned to make their way up a long gravel drive, "Did he just tell me to 'man up'?"

Gaara nodded silently, grimacing slightly each time their feet ground loudly against the gravel and echoed in the air, being heard even over the loud noise of the nightlife of the bugs.

Kiba grumbled under his breath as his shoved his hands in his pockets, "I don't need to 'man up'. Someone else needs to…on edge…asshole."

"You're just helping his point." Gaara sighed.

The three of then sank themselves into a deep silence, their brains tumbling over their unbelievable situation and what they were undeniably walking into. The driveway was coming to an end, and the house that was once looming in the distance was now hovering over them. The crunching of the gravel under their feet had died into the quiet footfalls as they landed on the paved drive that fell in front of the large manor.

The three of them slowly halted just in front of the house, lining up side by side. They lifted their faces slowly, dragging their eyes to get a clear view to look at the structure that hovered over them in the darkness.

Kiba swallowed hard, "It's for Naruto."

"No other choice." Gaara muttered.

Shikamaru sighed, "I simply hope this doesn't backfire."

As the three of them climbed the steps that creaked low and long, emitting low groans in protest, the large oak front door slowly opened. The silhouetted figure greeted them with a hiss of joy.  


* * *

Author's Notes: I'm simply writing something horribly complex so I can unravel it, does that make sense? It does to me, and everyone has had faith in me for awhile… so let's keep the trend alive. So as of right now, it might be confusing, but I promise it gets less and less as time goes on. Eventually. I hope. Man I fucking hope.  
I also don't know how far apart updates are going to be considering I'm just not up to my usual writing speed. So I hope you'll bare with me.


	9. Under A Godless Sky

Chapter Nine: Under A Godless Sky

Author's Note: Some of this might be either; A) A repeat or B) a change in the plot. I've stepped away from this fiction for so long I lost it, and no matter how much I read it, I couldn't make sense of a lot. Lol. Things might either be changing from what I wrote last chapter or I might be repeating myself. Please forgive me.

- Some people might be offended by the chapter title, but, it's just a title and just a song. It isn't intended to offend.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Already been done, am I right?

Chapter Nine: Under A Godless Sky

"Killing for pleasure,  
My need for blood will not stop.  
I live for your death,  
For your pain I am insane." – Rose Funeral – Under A Godless Sky

* * *

"Heart or Death?" Naruto repeated. "A choice…"

Sasuke waited silently, hoping without a word that the blond would understand.

"I…I choose to love you or die?" Naruto swallowed with a sick twist in his gut. "But-"

"You don't feel anything." Sasuke said simply, as if this eased Naruto's troubled mind.

"I don't understand…" Naruto trailed off, ruffling his own blond hair in confusion.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and braced himself, "Ask me…"

Naruto felt his eyebrows draw together at the cut off sentence, easily confused until he heard a tearing sound rip through the air. It was sickening really, watching someone's skin rip from nothing in particular but simply a few words. Tearing away in painful snaps.

"Ask me about our deaths!"

Naruto couldn't help but jump back and slam back against the wall at the harsh roar that shot out of Sasuke's throat. His voice was usually silky, taunting, alluring. It was pained, hungry, angry.

"What…?" Naruto cleared his throat gently to rid away the quiver in his voice, "What about our deaths?"

"Reword." Sasuke grounded out snappishly.

"Wh…what comes of our deaths? Shit…Uh…What happens if we die?" Naruto asked meekly, swearing his nerves had never been tested like this. Despite protection hanging around his neck, fear still welled in his stomach and coated his chest. This was new; this was still beyond most of his comprehension. He felt like a kid; unsure and unaware.

But Sasuke easily snapped him out of his fear for long enough, his hand clenching a spot Naruto couldn't make out.

"Our deaths. If you die or I die – either one – it will pose a problem larger than your friends can simply solve." Sasuke swallowed hard before straightening up, having hunched over suddenly from the pain that he could suddenly feel.

"What happens?" Naruto asked, uncertain if Sasuke needed a push to continue to talk.

"Sit. This is extensive." Sasuke muttered as he motioned towards the couch.

"I can handle standing." Naruto said, convincing himself that the couch between them was enough protection.

"I've explained the war between vampires, and the war between vampires and hunters. The vampires, for centuries of our existence, have had a ruler. Uchiha Madara is our ruler."

Naruto sucked in a breath and paused, "Is he the one…?"

"It doesn't matter." Sasuke continued, his hand still not leaving the sore spot as he continued to talk. "He is nothing but a war loving tyrant intent on showing us to the world."

"You don't want that…?" Naruto wasn't sure if it should be an obvious statement or a difficult question.

"No. The exposure of my kind to yours will start a full blown war between all humans and vampires, hunters – everything. Everything all over again but worse. Our densities fall into that.

Either expanding the war or stopping it."

Naruto couldn't help slapping his palm to his head, grabbing on to blond strands and grabbing them out of frustration, "What in the shit is this with my destiny? More! First I'm destined to be your love slave or some shit and _now_ this?"

"Everything intertwines." Sasuke said as if it was simple. "If you die, there is a war. If I die, there is a war. If you decide to accept me as the one you love or if you don't. Things can be stopped or things can escalade."

Naruto felt his breath catch when he contemplated on what to asked next, his mind reeling with questions and unseen answers.

"What happens with everything? Can I ask that?"

Sasuke nodded. "Some things I'll have to force out, but that's fine."

Naruto grimaced, "Don't do that…"

It was true that it disturbed him, watching flesh that was impassible like armor rip like paper. There was also the part of him that didn't want to see someone hurting despite how much he scared him.

"There are three people," Sasuke continued, gripping the marking that began to rip a little more, "that are concerns. If I die; Itachi, my brother, Madara the leader and Orochimaru the hunter will be ready for a war. Wanting it, begging for it, starting it. They're already starting."

Naruto swallowed and ignored the sound, "You can stop that?"

"If you choose me, if you accept us together, we can stop them and the impending war. Both of us together is the only way."

"If I die?"

Sasuke's stone face turned grim and the blond's voice faltered.

"A beast lurks inside you. Once that was sealed to eradicate the vampire race if the humans and hunters failed to do so in the war. One that is the sworn enemy of all."

Naruto unconsciously rubbed his hand on his stomach, his insides twisting uncomfortably.

"What would that be?"

"The Kyuubi."

* * *

"Mr. Sannin." Shikamaru greeted with a nod of his head, "We spoke on the phone."

Eyes glinted in the light from the high hanging moon, a flash of white teeth as a smile carved itself on a sickly pale face, "Of course."

Kiba visibly stiffened at the voice that greeted their ears from the man in front of them, his face contorting from struggling to remain impassive.

"Please, do come in." Orochimaru ushered, his form being silhouetted in the light.

"One of my agents is to remain outside." Shikamaru said, not realizing Kiba and Gaara were now locked in a glaring contest, "It's simply protocol."

"By the book, how charming."

Kiba swallowed hard at the sound of the voice that hit his ear, his eyes ripping away from Gaara's and officially losing in the staring contest and making it so he had to go inside and watch over his friend.

The man stepped over, clearing a path for the two younger men and signaling their entrance, silently asking them to come inside.

Shikamaru took the step first, telling that Kiba was worried about entering the house, and listened for the following apprehensive footfalls that quietly followed him inside.  
The smell that greeted their noses was quite unpleasant. The stench was thick and heavy in the air, smelling of rot, mold, and chemicals. The two held back their coughs, trying best as to not offend the only person who may know the only way as to help their friend. But as the short seconds ticked on their stomachs turned with a tumbling sensation threatening to empty, and their throats itched in disgust hoping to couch to fight it away.

The house looked old and worn on the inside just as it did on the outside. There were holes in the walls past patches of drywall showing exposed faulty wiring. The flight of stairs just inside the door showed a missing stair or two, and the ceiling dropped pieces of things they couldn't tell, but it gave a sense that it might fall in at any moment.

The lights flicked ominously in sequence, signaling that the wiring had been done some time ago, and not well.

"Does this meeting call for seats?" Orochimaru continued, pressing the tips of his fingers together in front of him.

"No." Shikamaru replied simply, "This will be brief."

Orochimaru nodded, his curtain of long greasy hair moved in a rigid wave with his head as he clasped his hands behind his back, "Of course."

Shikamaru handed over a folder that he had been carrying, clasped in his hand and crinkled from his iron grasp, "As I stated on the phone, you're the only person to my understanding who can help us find either Itachi or Sasuke Uchiha."

Orochimaru took the folder quickly, opening it with a certain gleam to his eye, "Yes, or as I pointed out, Madara Uchiha. Plus I'm afraid there are too many skeptics towards something that's living among us, so it seems none too many are willing or able to help. It seems you all had to learn the hard way."

Kiba felt his hands twitch in an itching sort of way to curl into a fist at the rude comment, but Shikamaru continued on, "Sadly, yes. So we're here to correct that mistake and retrieve our friend and help Konoha."

Orochimaru slapped the folder shut with a whipping snap, the corner of his mouth barely curling upwards, and the light above giving out with a pop.

"It will be a joy working _together_."

* * *

Naruto was squatting now, leaning against the wall and rubbing at his temples.

"Okay." He breathed out a shaky sigh and shook his hands in a frustrated manner in the air. "Let me see if I have this right."

Sasuke stood across the room, lingering back near the window once again and glancing outside.

"If I fall in love with you, we can stop a war that is brewing right here in Konoha?" Naruto swallowed painfully.

"Correct."

"If not, we're going to die." Naruto felt his eyebrows knit. "We're like, only a package deal, right? So if that doesn't happen, then the war will erupt. You'll die, and the three douche bags from hell will go all crazy and then I'll die, and I'll release a beast?"

Sasuke nodded stiffly, "Correct."

"Why will we die?" Naruto asked innocently like a lost child.

"Because we need the strength of each other, if not, we have nothing." Sasuke replied lightly.

There was a long pause where to Naruto, the air felt heavy around him when the final blow hit him. When the last piece of this giant confusing puzzle snapped into place in his head.

"You'll have to turn me into a vampire, won't you? For us to be together."

The pause that followed made the blond feel like he was choking as he waited for the answer even though he knew what was coming.

"Yes." Sasuke turned and faced the couch where Naruto was crouching behind it. "You're blood will make me nearly invincible. The only way to stop me from draining you completely and turning you is you choosing to be my mate. If you truly love me."

Naruto stood slowly on weak legs and rounded the couch with an impassive face and stopped in the middle of the room, his stomach tumbling at the thought.

"So in order to save everything, I have to love you?"

"Yes."

"And become a vampire…"

Sasuke looked back out the window where he frowned, sensing the rise of the sun.

"Yes."

* * *

The three walked down the gravel drive, their quickened footsteps crunching loudly as they ignored the noise and only cared about hurrying to get away as quickly as possible. They rushed down the driveway, glancing over they shoulders in constant paranoia until they reached the sidewalk where they were greeted by their car, Kiba tugging on the door handle before it was unlocked. Shikamaru pressed the unlock button with fumbling fingers, and with a snap of the locks the three men scrambled into the waiting van and then slammed on the locks with heaving chests.

"The smell," Kiba choked out with a grimace wiping at his mouth his with hand, "My God the smell in his house smelled like rotting corpses."

Shikamaru leaned forward near the steering wheel, pressing his palms against his eyes, "I know."

Gaara swallowed loudly from the backseat, "I heard screaming. In the woods near the back of the house just as you came out. It wasn't normal."

Kiba looked behind his seat, his face pale and a sheen coat of sweat coating it, "What do you mean?"

"It didn't sound human…it sounded so desperate."

Kiba's body stayed twisted in the seat but his face looked towards Shikamaru, "What do you think is going on here? There's _something_ obviously going on. Something obviously illegal. We can't risk other lives for the sake-"

Shikamaru held up a hand to silence his friend, "This isn't just for Naruto."

Kiba snapped his head back, "You mean we're going to leave whoever out there?"

"Whatever." Gaara corrected.

"Right!" Kiba barked, "We're just going to let them keep on doing something when we know it's going on. Nara, you know as well as I do there are dead bodies in that fucking house. You're just going to let him get away with murder?"

"We're going to work with him?" Gaara asked, checking.

"This isn't for Naruto anymore. This is for Konoha. He's the only one who can find the Uchiha's and they're the only ones who are any type of lead to Naruto's disappearance and the murder's in Konoha."

Kiba huffed, slamming back into his seat, "This is fucking insanity."

"I have a feeling there was an underlying meaning when he said 'working together'." Shikamaru sighed, "But right now I can't decode it, and if he is the only one who can save our friend and our home, I don't want to."

* * *

Author's Note: Horribly short chapter...I apologize after such a long wait.  
Things should get moving faster next chapter. I hope.  
Last note: To those of you whom I haven't written back, please forgive me. I'll get to it eventually.


	10. Sunrays of Chaos

Chapter Ten: Sun Rays of Chaos

Author's Notes: Look at that… an update so quickly.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Been done.

Chapter Ten: Sun Rays of Chaos

"He is looking for something that God wants to stay hidden. That's what makes him more dangerous." – Max Payne

* * *

Sasuke reached out his hand and grabbed at the pull string for the curtains, letting them fall heavily and kicking up clouds dust inducing a cough.

At least for Naruto. The blond swatted away the air in front of him as he clutched his chest with his free hand and even dared to glare at the vampire.

"A warning would have been nice."

"I'm going to do the other." Sasuke stated politely, instantly flashing to the other window.

Naruto pulled up his shirt to cover his nose and mouth and flopped tiredly on the couch with a sigh, his hands ruffling his hair in hopes to calm his mind that was in disarray.

"I must rest for this one day." Sasuke said stiffly, inching away from the windows cautiously. "I don't know when I'll be able to sleep after this."

Naruto looked up through this laced fingers that were in front of his face, his curious blue eyes turning and finding the creature at his new spot in the darkened doorway that led to the hallway.

"Why don't you know when you'll be able to go to sleep? I thought your kind could go for years without it?" Naruto questioned, giving Sasuke a look he would normally give to Kiba. "The sun is going to rise again tomorrow you know."

Sasuke glared, red eyes glinting in the darkened hall in furious slits. "I do not know that, Naruto. Neither do you. I need to rest to protect you."

The blond bristled. "Protect me? I can do that myself."

"Are you sure a necklace can save you forever?" Sasuke replied quickly as if he knew what Naruto was going to say beforehand.

There was a silence were Naruto averted his eyes away from the chilling site of Sasuke's eyes lingering in the hallway, his mind pounding with thoughts of vampires and war. A beast of unknown shape and size loomed in the back of his mind to taint his nightmares, three figures boasted their fight for glory.

"Are you sure you're protecting me for the right reasons?" Naruto asked suddenly, turning back towards the windows as the light just barely began to burn at the edges.

There was a silent question in Sasuke's eyes as their color began to die back down to black as he lost himself in thought instead of thirst.

"You say you want to stop the war, but there is something else. Are you really just intending to get my blood and change me so you can take down your brother for turning you into what you are? Because really, what are you going to do for the rest of eternity once you've gotten your revenge?"

Naruto turned back to face the hallway and found that he was left alone. Alone in the silence of the early morning rays without so much as a sound or movement to show Sasuke's departure. He figured he had hit a rough spot. He turned back and faced the curtained windows with a sigh, his eyelids heavy with mental and physical drain. His body sunk comfortably in the couch, his tensed muscles easing with each passing second the vampire wasn't skirting around the room with blinding speed.

Despite how much he wanted to give into the sleep that was calling to him in such a seductive whisper, he stood from the couch with his mind already made.  
If today was the last day Sasuke would sleep and not simply hide, then today he would leave the house. He would return, of course, for the sake of his family and friends.  
He only hoped as he took down the stairs and cracked open the front door that it would not be for the last time. That he would indeed get to return home, no fangs, no war, and no more death.

He could only hope as the looming chaos began to nip at his heels.

* * *

The basement was dark, the high set window lined with the lawn had been covered with a blanket to keep out all light. The room was quietly humming with snores of the restless sleepers whose dreams were being polluted with recent events. Shikamaru slept at his computer desk, his ponytail sticking up like a flag of surrender to the world that was moving so fast around them.

Piles of folders and papers surrounded him while his computer hummed in the background. Gaara slept straight up, arms folded across his chest with his chin rested there as well after having drifted off while in deep thought. Kiba was sprawled on the ground; an empty soda can clutched in his hand while his foot twitched restlessly.

Suddenly, without warning, a knock came to the door that lead to the basement; loud and rapid. The three stirred with panic, grabbing weapons like a reflex and stumbling towards the bottom of the stairs.

"My parents went to a relatives place across the country." Shikamaru whispered as he clutched his gun. "Ino was being a stubborn woman and went to work."

Gaara tightened his grip around his baseball bat, "No one else comes here but Naruto."

Kiba held up his soda can in a threatening manner. "Why would a bad guy knock?"

The door opened with a slow creak making them all ready their weapons as the silhouette of someone appeared in the doorway.

"Nice to see you, too."

Naruto's voice seemed somewhat surreal to them, the three squinting their eyes to check if they were dreaming. But the blond bounded down the steps and leapt down in their faces with a grin, acting like he hadn't disappeared.

There was a moments paused before the reality of the situation hit, and everyone dropped their weapons to their sides and the smiles cracked on their faces.

Kiba rushed forward, his can of defense lying on the floor, and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. He spun the blond around and prodded him here and there in his own awkward way of checking on his best friend. At last he grabbed Naruto's mouth and yanked it open uncomfortably for poor Naruto, his eyes searching inside his mouth.

The blond swatted him away and rubbed at his jaw. "What in the hell was that for?"

Kiba shrugged as if it made perfect sense. "Checking for fangs."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru and Gaara before looking at Kiba. "Don't you think I would have killed you right away?"

"Maybe…" Kiba mumbled.

Shikamaru gave is friend a pained look. "Are you alright?"

"We've been trying to figure out how to get you back. We didn't think you were just going to walk here without a care." Gaara said in his usual dead tone.

Naruto sighed, walking through his clustered friends and right to the side table. He got to his knees and reached to the back of the low sitting shelf and pulled out his emergency stash of ramen.

He silently went around the basement, getting his water and popping open the microwave. His friends shared worried looks as their usually talkative friend remained silent.  
Naruto grabbed the instant ramen out of the microwave with a heavy sigh and a rumbling stomach, and swept up one of Kiba's cans of soda in the process.

He took a seat on the couch, his friends still in their same place with worry and apprehension written over their faces. So without further hesitation, Naruto dove in.

He told them everything (in between bites of food) to the best of his ability and memory. He started from the very chilling moment of losing himself in the darkness of unconsciousness all the way to taking the plunge and walking out of the house. Ocassionally he would grab at his necklace to make sure it was there, but now they all knew just how important that little piece of jewelry was.

When he was finished with not only his story, but his food, he glanced up to find his frozen friends moving to take seats. A meeting had to begin.

"He's going to kill you?" Kiba swallowed hard, "He _really_ said he was going to kill you. One second without that necklace and that's it?"

"It took me awhile to figure out what he really meant." Naruto said as he took a new soda from Gaara with simple appreciation. "Turning me into a vampire would kill me in a way. If he wants things to go his way, he can't _kill_ me. I'm too important."

"Won't he, like, you know… do something since you left." Kiba muttered, remembering the threat on their lives.

"I doubt it." Naruto said surely. "But I wasn't going to stick around that place without warning you all."

Gaara looked over at Shikamaru. "We have to do something about Orochimaru."

Naruto shook his head. "One guy isn't going to make all the difference. Just steer clear of him."

"You _sure _he isn't going to kill you…or us." Kiba asked again, a slight hint of a whine in his voice.

"He needs me. I already said it. Him and I can take down all of this."

"Or make it worse." Shikamaru muttered.

"It's the only way to stop his brother, or Orochimaru. If Orochimaru has advanced as much as possible, then there is trying to stop the army he'll have as well as the rest of the vampire race _and_-"

Shikamaru stood suddenly, "Back up!"

"I'm on a couch." Naruto replied brilliantly.

"About Orochimaru advancing." Shikamaru snapped.

"The army? He'll like, I only know so much, but have his own army. Sasuke said something about it; he's building one or trying, really. Then there is the rest of the vampire race, Sasuke and I, his brother Itachi, Hunters, and whatever stupid humans get in the way. It's a war to end all wars really."

"I love how you say human like you're not one anymore." Kiba muttered grimly.

Shikamaru quickly turned to his desk, shoving papers off frantically in search for something in particular. Stacks of files crashed sloppily to the floor, a few thumb drives fell to land on top of the papers and even his keyboard to his precious computer was sent crashing over.

He stopped suddenly, going rigid at his desk, his three friends watching his back carefully. His shoulders were tense as stared at the filed he dug up about Orochimaru not even bothering to open it.

"Dear God…" Shikamaru whispered breathlessly. "It all makes such horrible sense. The smell, the scream, the army."

Naruto shook his head lightly, shaking off the sudden confusion having not heard their own story. "You aren't making any sense there buddy."  
Shikamaru spun around, his eyes dancing frantically all over the ground.

"The smell of rotting corpses in the mansion, the scream in the forest, the army Orochimaru wants to build. It _all_ makes sense. He's breeding vampires."

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes with a start and instantly sniffed the air. He was trying to sense the familiar smell of Naruto, he tried to listen for his beating heart that before had echoed like a drum.

He jumped up, his feet carrying him up the stairs in a flash and eerily silent. He skirted past a window and noted the sun had set once again, and the safety of the night sky had come once more.

He stopped suddenly in front of the door that lead to the room where he left Naruto, wondering if the blond was still inside, wondering if he had taken his threats seriously. He listened carefully, his eyes roaming the door before he grabbed for the handle and opened it silently.

The room was silent and dead. All the dust had settled back to where it could lay gently, covering everything in a film. Sasuke bared his teeth in anger, and he made a move to dash for the stairs when he heard it.

The familiar sound of exhaling breath immediately followed by a roar of a heartbeat. He slowly stepped inside the room, his eyes searching before he found himself at the back of the couch. He looked down to find Naruto in a dead sleep, his hand curled around the small crystal necklace in a vice-like grip.

Sasuke reached over the couch, his left hand inching towards Naruto face before he stopped just and inch away. His fingertips hovered over his peaceful face for a moment in thought before he retracted them quickly.

He clenched his teeth and turned away with his only goal in mind.

Make the mortal fall in love with the demon before the war erupts.

* * *

Author's Notes: I know there are some things missing, like Naruto going back to the house and everything. Before people question, I'm getting to that next chapter.


	11. A Race With the Sun

Chapter Eleven: A Race With the Sun

Author's Notes: Not only is this like, backtracking into a little filler, but again, I might be either repeating things, or rewriting them. Please go with the flow.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Been _way_ done. With love of course.

Chapter Eleven: A Race With the Sun

"There was a time that I was not afraid,  
Today is the day we send this wind away." - Jonny Craig: Taking The Time For All The Wrong Things

* * *

Kiba had his face buried in his hands, hunched over on the couch. Shikamaru was slumped in his computer chair staring at the ceiling, chain smoking like it was his last day left. Gaara had gotten up and removed the cloth from the window to give a bright look of the lawn that alined with the window. Naruto was standing at the bottom of the steps, his eyes flicking from the floor to the window, trying to perfectly calculate his time to get back to the old, dusty mansion.

"Naruto..." Kiba cracked out, "What...what in the world are you planning?"

Gaara looked away from the window. "We're going to help."

"Yeah..." Shikamaru sighed, "Whether you like it or not."

"I thought I said stay out of it." The blond muttered.

Kiba looked up from the floor, his cropped brunette hair more crazed looking than usual. "You heard what in the hell you told us, right? You die and become some crazy beast thing or you get turned into a vampire. You die or you don't and aren't the same. There is no plain old Naruto coming home safe and sound."

"It's obviously a situation where we're stuck between a rock and a hard place." Shikamaru muttered in a dead tone.

The room was filled with a stale silence, packed with statues of men lost in their thoughts. It was only broken when Gaara sighed, turning away from the window.

"Naruto."

The blond looked up and over to his friend, his eyes passing the other two grave faces in a flash with the weight of unwanted guilt pooling in his stomach.

"What?"

"You know what you have to do, right?"

He nodded, his blond hair brushing his forehead in a swift movement, brushing just above his eyes.

"I have to fall in love."

Shikamaru let out his trademark sigh and clumsily stood from his chair. "I suppose if we can't keep you human it's the only thing that we can truly feel comfortable with. Only question is how..."

"You're kidding, right?" Kiba snapped, "We'll just let Naruto be turned into a creepy-crawly-fang..._thing_. Just like that?"

"No. Not just like that." Gaara added sternly.

"Kiba, think about it." The blond glanced towards the window lit with the sun and looked up the looming staircase. "If our favorable option of keeping me human will _not_ work, becoming a … _vampire_ is the only reasonable thing to do. I can save Konoha. Our family, our friends; all of us."

"This is fucking unreal." He cursed, kicking at the table.

The blond ruffled his hair, shaking his head. "I need to go talk to my parents."

"You mean say goodbye?" Kiba growled.

The blond threw his head back, "You think this is easy on me?"

"It's not easy on any of us." Gaara supplied calmly.

"I don't think you guys understand all this." Kiba added in a slightly crazed voice. "Our _best friend_ is going to be turned into a fucking _vampire_. There is going to be a _war_ with _vampires_."  
Kiba stressed hard on the words, flailing his arms and tugging on his hair. "Isn't anyone else a little _freaked out_ other than me? Maybe even scared? Confused? Pissed? Frustrated! It's like we're giving our blessings to Naruto's death! A whole new world blew up in our faces and you guys are fine with it."

"I'm not going to die." The blond said in a sure tone.

"If you're really turned into one of those things, you said it yourself, in a way you'll die to us."

"But," Naruto sighed out, "We can't have me live, and Konoha survive."

"So." Shikamaru interrupted, "The big question of the hour. How do you fall in love with something that wants to kill you?"

Naruto began to try his awkward climb up the stairs, his foot on the banister to launch himself up. "I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

Naruto ran at top speed, huffing through the cold air and the biting pain in his side. Gaara was right, he needed to work out more. He hadn't realized he spent so much time in the Nerd Cave. When he really thought about it, telling his terrifying and real life tale while scarfing down ramen could do that. Father Time probably didn't know what to do with himself.

He could tell it was going to rain. The large clouds loomed ominously in the distance, the air was a sticky sweet.

It was bad enough the sky looked like it was about to erupt, but the fact that his run from his friend's to his parent's house was empty, scared him more. Usually the suburban neighborhoods were alight with life. People gardening, walking their dogs, children playing, mowing their lawns; it was dead. His chest felt like a hole finally erupted in him. In the back of his mind, he knew if he didn't choose the right thing, Konoha would always be like this. His home would be dead.

He could understand the people hiding in fear. A place usually free of chaos, crime and murder was suddenly knee deep in cases.

He came to a halt in front of the door to his parent's house. As reality finally sunk in as his lungs gathered oxygen, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to explain anything, let alone everything. His world, their world; it was all falling apart.

Not to mention a hot-headed, stubborn mother who was liable to kill him herself, and a father that was just the same. He couldn't say goodbye, like Kiba had said. It really wasn't. At least, he was convincing himself it wasn't.

He had already noticed his parents weren't at home. He was betting on his mom having gone with his dad to his office. He turned the knob to the front door with a smile, they never locked the door.  
He stopped inside the doorway and realized he couldn't take anything with him. He didn't know if the vampire would be touchy with sentimental objects or maybe even a change of clothes. Hell, he'd probably give him a terrifying glare for leaving.

Instead he took out his wallet from his back pocket, the poor thing still wedged back there after the entire ordeal. He let it fall open, the fake leather smacking against itself as it dropped from open in his clutching hand. He immediately took out the only picture in his wallet. He, his father and his mother sitting together on the front steps of the house smiling. He gently laid it on the dining room table with a sigh, hoping with all he had they would get the message.

He would do anything to keep them happy, together, and most importantly alive.

* * *

As soon as the bottom of the sun touched the horizon, Naruto convinced himself he was screwed. He was sure that he had messed up, screwed everyone over, and was going to be damning them to murder by vampire.

He put his legs into overdrive and sprinted the best that he could. His lungs were aflame, and his legs had gone numb making him feel like he was running on air. The house had come into view, his feet pounded roughly on the asphalt of the road and he ducked his head and raced forward. He never knew the sun could set so fast until it really mattered.

He fumbled and slipped as he climbed the large gates outside of the house, not a passing shopper in the street to watch this awkward journey in his frantic thoughts. He didn't want to come flying through the house and storm up the stairs. Sasuke could hear him breathing, that would sound like a stampede.

If he could fake through everything, pretend like he never left, there might be some hope.

He jogged up the sloping lawn, his breath coming out in pants, the stitch in his side had finally died to be replaced by the pain of his burning lungs.

When he was faced with the old house, he did was any sensible person would do, he climbed. The front steps held an old porch, it's railing being the perfect stepladder to the roof above. How sturdy either of those things were, he didn't care. In a swift, almost cat life movement, he jumped up on the banister, going heel to toe as he tried to keep his balance till he was next to the small roof, and lifted himself up. The house groaned and the shingles underneath his feet creaked and sank under every foot fall. This was the exact window he was looking for though, and he silently counted his blessings as he ripped open the window just as the last sliver of sun was to be seen.

He rolled into the room, holding his breath against the dust the flew to attention as he fought through the curtains. Barely waving his hand to fend off the flurries of cough inducing hell, he crawled for the couch and laid down, trying to be as stiff as the vampire was before.

He didn't bother closing the window, and a million excuses raced through his head as to why it was opened. All of them, he was quiet sure, wouldn't get his friends killed.  
Like clock work, the door creaked open. As if he just noticed the lack of oxygen, Naruto shut his eyes lightly and let out his breath. He heard Sasuke's footfalls approaching, but didn't dare to open his eyes.

He decided once he heard the vampires calculated, barely audible footfalls retreat was the best time to reveal himself.

He sat up on the couch and looked towards the doorway. Sasuke had stopped where he was and his dark red eyes were staring at him like a demon out of the fire. At that moment, he knew this one look would haunt him forever.

"You left." Sasuke stated simply, no emotion lacing his voice.

The blond froze where he was, his fingers curling around the loose fabric of the couch cushion. "Why do you think that?"

"I can smell them, your friends. It's all over you." He replied simply, as if it was obvious.

"Don't hurt them." Naruto went on quickly, his heart rate doubling. "I came back."

"Calm down." Sasuke wasn't saying it for the sake of Naruto's sanity, but his own. The beat of the blond's thumping heart had his throat roaring in pain.

"I need to talk to you about something."

The blond slammed his eyes shut when there was a quick gust of wind, and dust flew in the air again. When Naruto's sky blue eyes found Sasuke, he was pulling the curtains back to their resting place, the window showing off a dark and empty town.

"I'd like it if you went at a normal speed." He began sarcastically.

"This is normal."

"For you." Naruto corrected, "That's besides the point. That mark on your neck, from that hunter..."

"I've explained it." The vampire said in a bit of an irritated tone. Naruto supposed it was a bit of an annoyance, and he figured Sasuke didn't want to talk through ripping flesh again.

"You said that he did it to like, tame you, right? Yeah." The blond continued, answering himself. "There were others, right?"

"Yes, I've told you."

Naruto nodded, sweeping one hand through his ruffled hair and deciding to stand. "I think it was a test. Like you guys were the first batch or whatever. See how well that worked, and then make it bigger...better."

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke said in a bored tone, glancing out of the window as usual.

"What if...Orochimaru was making them to completely control vampires. Not just tame them a little, wouldn't that give him the edge on this epic battle?"

Naruto took the silence as a cue to continue his theory, or really, Shikamaru's.

"You said Orochimaru _wanted_ to build an army. He _tired_. I think he's already started a new one. I know he has. He's found a way to breed vampires. It makes sense. If that mark works like I think it does, he can control them into making more. He can control more. When this fight is all said and done, he can do what he wants with them in the end, right?"

If the blond couldn't physically see Sasuke right before his very eyes, he would have been betting on being in the room and completely alone. The silence was straining not only his mental stability, but his patience.

"And I need to know this, the truth. Is Itachi in town for the war that's brewing, or because he's after us. Or both. Because he knows together we'll be unstoppable."

Sasuke glanced away from the window, his eyes almost a glowing red. A mixture of anger, hunger, impatience, hate. There was a separate storm brewing in his eyes alone.

"Both." He replied, looking away. "Instead of waiting for me to die, he'll want us dead first, together. It's all calculated and planned out. After the Kyuubi is released, Itachi and Madara will let it kill the rest of anything in it's path. Then, they would take it out together. Lastly, they would fight against each other."

"Just like that..." Naruto muttered. "It would destroy everything Orochimaru planned..."

"I don't understand why you want to save this place so badly," Sasuke continued. "You can't understand why I want to destroy Itachi, Madara, and the hunters."

Contrary to belief, Naruto could easily argue that statement into the ground.

"We need each other to get what we want, for things to go the way we've planned." Sasuke said lightly. "Time is running too short to try anything different."

"Anything different than say, you know, me being some beastly thing and you dying off. Us being awkwardly in love. Everything we know being thrown into chaos."

"We'll have to fight. Take them down one by one." Sasuke muttered almost to himself.

"Afterwords?"

It was the question that was itching the back of Naruto's mind and the scariest thought of them all. What would happen after everything.

"When we are in love, we'll guide ourselves."

Shutting his eyes and fighting away the cringe, and silently coming to some sort of terms with this weird card of fate, he asked the unanswerable question.

"How do I fall in love with you?"

Naruto knew what that meant. Being turned into a vampire, turning his back on his life that he loved and knew it as. At the same time, he would be saving those precious people, his wonderful home. He wanted all of that safe no matter what, even if that meant being turned into a vampire.

Sasuke turned away fully from the window and walked towards Naruto, his face just slightly showing a grim outline of worry.

"That, I don't even know myself. But it's out of our hands now, we've run out of time."

The blond watched as Sasuke gently shut the door, his insides growing cold. Maybe he figured out a way to get past the necklace, maybe it was his end?

The vampire ran stone hands down the button up shirt that covered his upper half, the silk rippling under the gesture. He squared his shoulders and braced his feet as he sided up with the blond, his eyes staring off out the window into the night.

"Itachi has found us."

* * *

Author's Notes: Another cliffy -bows- forgive me.


	12. For the Moon

Chapter Twelve: For The Moon

Author's Notes: Some people might bitch about this chapter, but it's something that builds it up for the next chapter, so bare with me.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Been done.

Chapter Twelve: For The Moon

* * *

Naruto heard Sasuke curse, but it sounded like a different language. He figured it would be pretty easy to learn anything that you wanted when you had all the time in the world.  
He swallowed hard when Sasuke shifted and stepped in front of him, careful as not to touch him.

"I didn't think he'd be here so quickly. I thought he'd stay hidden till the war..."

Naruto instinctively put his hand out to grab Sasuke but retracted. Panic was rising from his stomach and burning at his chest. Reality of the situation slammed into him with a fury.

Someone was here to kill him.

"Stay behind me." Sasuke muttered. "When he attacks, you run."

"Noble." Naruto whispered, trying to look around him. "But you can't die. We've established this."

"I _won't_ die." Sasuke said firmly.

"Easy to say now." Naruto hissed. "What in the hell are we going to do?"

"Just do what I said. Let me handle this."

It was at that second the knob of the door began to turn.

"What happens if..." Naruto started, his voice faltering. His panic began to set in as the situation hit him full on. Sasuke had to fight. He had to save not only himself now, but some useless mortal who had the fate of their world resting around his neck.

"We'll get out of this." The vampire whispered. "We'll get what we both want."

Even though Naruto knew it was all because of the hypnotizing ways of Sasuke's voice, he couldn't help but be fully convinced by his words. He believed fully that they could do this at this very moment. But that moment didn't stop the sheer panic as Itachi strode in the room.

Suddenly, that strong belief flew out the window, and only a desire to live coursed through him.

He'd save everyone and everything, even if that included Sasuke.

Naruto watched over Sasuke's shoulder as Itachi entered the room. The way he walked seemed to command your attention. The way his eyes flashed in the dimness of the room screamed for control. It was far different from the person he thought he encountered just a short while ago.

"Run."

Sasuke bit the word out with such force that it made the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. It was viscous sounding, as if death was laced in that word. There was a fraction of a second's hesitation.

Within that flash, he found himself knocked against the wall, roughly banging his head. He blinked back the white spots and let his eyes search till the dizziness disappeared. When his vision cleared, he saw Sasuke standing over him with Itachi barreling down on him.

Naruto didn't hesitate this time to scramble away. He kicked off the ground, his fingertips ghosting the floor as he scrambled out of the room as fast as his mortal legs could carry him. He tore through the door and scrambled down the stairs, almost falling.

Sasuke turned on the attack as best as he could. Shoving Naruto back was the only opportunity he had to get him out of the way when his brother charged. It meant burning the palm of his hand and tips of his fingers before heading into a fight that would, no doubt, lead to the death.

Sasuke sidestepped a strike from Itachi, but before he could counter he felt fingers grasp his hair to still him, another set to catch his jaw with a feirce grip.

"You need to leave, Sasuke." Itachi warned.

The younger glared, his red eyes glowing with thirst and anger. "No."

The clutch that held his hair was gone, the strong hand of stone that grasped his jaw melted away. Itachi was already on the opposite side of the room, a wall of black lingering there.  
Sasuke charged across the room, and in an instant, he felt hands wrap around his upper arms. He tried to recalculate and retaliate, but half a second later he was being thrown through the air to crash land into a wall.

"Listen to me." Itachi said calmly, as if he was the voice of rationality.

Sasuke was back on his feet in an instant. The debris of the broke wall forgotten in a pile on the floor. He pushed off the floor and launched towards his brother, hoping this would be a death strike. In a blur his hand reached for his chest, but Itachi shifted. His other hand flashed for his throat, and Itachi ducked.

Sasuke froze when Itachi was suddenly behind him, his hand grabbing at his back behind his dead heart. When his eyes chanced a glance to look down, pale slender fingers were hovering around his throat as backup.

"Don't move." Itachi spoke quietly next to Sasuke's ear.

"Go ahead." Sasuke bit sharply, his teeth clashing. "Naruto will be long gone."

"And you need to follow." Itachi replied gently, his voice a smooth trail of silk. "You need to get as far away as you possibly can."

If Sasuke was breathing, he would gamble on his breath stilling quickly in his chest, his head lost in a sudden haze of confusion. He was standing here, figuring he had no way out, and waiting for death to embrace him. He was counting the seconds down till the stillness and emptiness of nothingness captured him and stole him away. But he was still there, stone against stone, trying to grasp on to the impossible.

"What are you talking about?" He whispered, so quietly no normal person would catch it. "What are you waiting for?"

There was a dead, forced sigh that brushed the back of his neck. It was frustrated and tired, something that would buy time for a quick mind.

"I'm doing what I can, Sasuke. I can only hold everything off for so long."

Eyes bathed in red searched endlessly in the dark room, his nose just tipped in the air searching for Naruto's sent. The few traces lingered about the room, but no strong presence tickled his nose. A wave of relief hit him, sudden unexplainable worry almost clouded his vision.

"They'll all be here soon." Itachi murmured, his voice strained. "You have to listen to me."

Sasuke went to whip around, but realized if this was indeed some sort of trick or distraction, he'd be gone in an instant.

"Let me help you." Itachi said firmly.

"What are you up to?" Sasuke growled. "Why did you kill your coven just to come alone?"

"I did what I had to." He replied.

"Spill blood just to spill more?" Sasuke questioned snidely. "A ruthless vampire indeed. You graciously live up to your reputation."

"I need you to listen to me, little brother. I'm trying to buy you as much time as I possibly can."

Sasuke felt his brother move away, the hands of death's embrace floating away with the wind. He turned, finding his brother lurking in a dark corner of the room, his blood eyes searing out of the darkness.

There was a jolt in his stomach urging him to attack, but a notable scorching pain grabbing at his lungs and seized his throat. For the sake of Naruto, he needed to be rational. Even for a moment, he could listen. Buy them both time, calculate as best as he can.

"I need you to get Naruto somewhere safe." He explained. His voice was hard like stone wrapped in fine lace, shrouded in utter darkness.

"I'm not taking him somewhere for you to come and kill him." Sasuke said lowly, his voice a deep growl of a lurking monster.

Itachi's eyes flared for a brief moment before cooling to a deep, blood red. Frustration gripping him and spinning him but for a moment.

"I understand you have a certain imprestion. I know you have things planned out, little brother, but you heed my warning." Itachi growled. "In less you turn him _now_, he'll be lost. Our _home_ will be lost. He will become a thing of destruction and chaos."

Sasuke gave a menacing sneer. "You don't think I already know that?"

"You need to hide him!" Itachi snapped, the clashing of his teeth ringing throughout the room. "I need you to fight with me and...."

Sasuke smirked before he whipped his head away, now walking at a leisurely pace around the room, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Die? Is that it? You expect me to fall for something so ridiculous?"

It happened before his lightening fast thinking and even quicker reflexes could help him. He grimaced quickly when he collided with the wall, the pictures falling and then the glass splashing. He cracked open his eyes that unwillingly shut to find himself sunken in the far wall, splintered wood surrounding him, and his brother's hand grasping his neck. He could feel that his feet weren't touching the ground and without any other way around it, he had to listen to what his brother had to say to him.

"You two have been fated together since before you were turned. Madara spoke of it to me. _The Moon of the Uchiha's will dance with the newly born Sun of Konoha_." He quoted. "_But the Sun faces challenges and burdens. The Moon will weep. The Shining Star of the Uchiha's must help and interfere._"

Sasuke felt his brow furrow, still dangling in the air by his neck like this happened every day. He should have been grateful that he couldn't breathe.

"Our family knew what the '_Sun of Konoha_' meant. It was such a great power." Itachi said calmly, his teeth baring as he held back his frustration. "But they never heard the rest of the small tale. So they had made a plan to pass through the centuries of our clan. To steal _The Sun_ and harness his powers. Leave _The Moon_ to rot."

"What are you..."

"Our family was planning to take Naruto and seize his powers. They were prepared to kill him. They had centuries to plot it. They didn't know about vampires and what was to happen to us. They had no idea about the Moon."

Sasuke eyes turned to a sharp glare. "They wouldn't, they weren't like that."

Itachi's fingers twitched in impatience around his little brother's neck. "They heard of a Great War that would spill into Konoha centuries later. They wanted the upper hand. Once Madara changed me, I turned my back on him. I did _exactly_ what I had to do Sasuke. I had to do it."

A flash of blood splattered floors and stilled corpses filled his mind, a sharp pain burned at his chest. Understanding tried to make itself known, but denial was stronger.

"You didn't kill them because of that." Sasuke bit harshly, jerking in his position.

Itachi thrust his hand forward, keeping him in place. "As soon as I was turned, I knew what needed to happen."

"But..." Sasuke tried to contradict, but was once again was shoved harshly into the wall, his body digging a bigger hole in the wood.

"You do _not_ have time to debate this!" Itachi lashed. "You and I need to fight together."

Sasuke stiffened at the tone in his brother's voice. There was desperation underneath the layer of anger.  
There was a guttural growl lingering in Itachi's chest, another shove forward as he jammed Sasuke into he wall.

Then it happened. Something that neither of them were prepared for.

That was Naruto.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, leaning forward at his computer desk, squinting at the screen. His eyes burned, his head pounded, and his back ached. A plate of food was set in front of him and a tender kiss topped his head. He heard the sigh that almost mirrored his own from too much time together.

"I wish you wouldn't have come back." He stated lightly, knowing she wouldn't take offense.

Ino shrugged, dropping a plate in front of both Gaara and Kiba, then setting down their drinks. The two of them were pouring over files, notepads scattered throughout the room with notes.

"I couldn't stay away." She said lightly, showing up behind him again. She ran a soothing hand over his shoulders, invisibly wiping away some type of worry with her gentle touch.

He turned away from the computer suddenly, his chair turning with the quirk of his body and she stepped away to give him room. It groaned to make its old age presently known. He pressed against his eyes with the tips of his fingers, hoping they would relax and the burn would die down. He felt sweet fingers trail through his ponytail.

"I can't find anything on him." He sighed, grabbing Gaara's and Kiba's attention. "He's hidden everything better than I ever expected."

Gaara leaned back in his chair, Kiba following suit with his drink and a relieved sigh.

"What now?" Gaara asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.

"The only people we _can_ go to." Kiba said, a note of obviousness in his voice.

Shikamaru nodded, agreeing. "Tsunade and Jiraiya are the only ones who know him. Therefore, not only are they a key to this entire thing, but – they're a target."

Gaara gave a simple nod, leaning forward to grab the food he was given. With a simple nod to Ino, he looked at Shikamaru, his face dead as usual.

"I doubt they'll talk." He said as he moved his food around on the plate, debating on eating it. "There is loyalty underneath the regret and shame."

Ino was leaving the room them, going up the stepladder to transition to the stairs to give them privacy. Shikamaru always coded things when she was there, and despite how much that got under her skin, she understood why.

The three of them waited for the door at the top of the stairs to quietly and politely shut as Ino went about cleaning up the kitchen.  
Gaara stood, placing his plate back on the table and folded his arms. His face was gently set, dark circles haunting his eyes, worry lines unconsciously etching at his forehead.

"The three of them grew up together. There's a closeness there that was, most likely, unwillingly formed. Once you spend a certain amount of time together with a person, some things are unavoidable. So there is a closeness there, which is a problem. But there is betrayal. He dirtied Konoha's name and their reputation."

Shikamaru nodded, agreeing. "It's a chance we have to take."

* * *

Kiba shuffled his feet nervously outside of the office door. He turned to look over his shoulder at his two friends with a scowl.

"Why in the hell do _I_ have to go first?"

"Tsunade knows you better." Gaara answered.

"Doesn't mean she fucking likes me." Kiba grumbled. "She's going to swing a punch at the first one of us she sees because of Naruto missing."

Shikamaru reached over his shoulder and tapped his knuckles on the door, and before Kiba had any time to scramble away and hope for the best, the door was being ripped open with a fury.  
The three of them stood there, staring at Tsunade; Kiba with wide pleading eyes for his life. She gave them an intimidating once over, her eyes glaring. It was at that moment Jiraiya appeared behind her.

He placed a calming hand on her shoulder and moved her aside, ushering the three of them in.

"This is far better than a phone call."

The three of them held back wincing, noting from Jiraiya's tone he was just as happy to see them as Tsunade.  
The three of them stood there, now looking at the pair. They both looked tired and strained, weary and distressed. The effect of Naruto missing was more than anyone really suspected.

"Make it quick, brats. We're busy." Tsunade snapped.

Shikamaru gave a sigh, usually heard out of boredom or annoyance, but this was something else. No one else would be able to pick up on it though. It was simply because he understood how they felt all too well.

"I didn't want to drag you both into this." He muttered. "But we need you both."

Kiba nodded and Gaara blinked.

"Please, sit." Gaara ushered.

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at one another, sharing something from just a simple action. She turned her face away and sighed in annoyance, and Jiraiya followed behind her. The two of them took seats; Jiraiya at his chair and Tsunade was sitting on the desk. They both looked utterly intimidating, but Shikamaru cleared his throat as Kiba and Gaara stood on either side of him.

Gaara was the one to speak first. "We need as much information as you can can give us."

"Without holding back anything." Kiba added.

"About Orochimaru." Shikamaru ended.

* * *

Author's Notes: Look at me putting out updates. I'm all sorts of proud.


	13. In Between

Chapter Thirteen: In Between

Author's Notes: Sorry for the LONG hiatus. I can't apologize enough. All updates on my fictions and progress can always be found in my profile. This fiction got the special treatment though, because you guys asked for it so much.

Warnings/Disclaimer: Can be found someone between chapters one through twelve.

Chapter Thirteen: In Between

For: All the people that asked for it.

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse." - Deuteronomy 30:19

* * *

Naruto hurtled himself down the stairs. He stumbled in his haste down the first half a flight before simply jumping. He tore through the front door and screamed halfway across the lawn when he heard a loud bang. He stopped in his tracks, tearing up some of the lawn from his abrupt stop and turned to stare at the house. He figured some piece of furniture had been broken, maybe a door ripped from the hinges, maybe a body falling into something.

His heart drummed wildly in his chest, his mind scrambling with thoughts of what to do. He could run, grab his friends and family to make for the hills. Or, he could do the stupid thing and go back and help the vampire.

Shikamaru always told him he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

Naruto rationalized as he sprinted back towards the house that he needed Sasuke to save Konoha. He needed the asshole in order to save his family and friends. Past the rationalization, he realized he didn't know how in the world he was supposed to fight a vampire. Sure, he could _touch_ him. One punch to the face would leave Itachi with minus one jaw. The fact of the matter was getting _close_ enough to touch him.

He knew he couldn't do anything close to a sneak attack. Vaguely in the back of his mind, he knew that he was most likely running to his death. That stubborn will he inherited was at the forefront, that, right along with his own stupidity.

When he ripped open the doors his mind was blank, his knees weak and his heart was beating faster than it had in his entire life. He felt like a walking meal screaming to be eaten. The faces of his loved ones raced through his mind. He couldn't turn back, he couldn't run. He couldn't do that, for the sake of other people.

He grabbed the closest thing to a weapon upon entry, and that was an umbrella he noticed before; an idle thing that passed through his mind. Now he was hoping that it would be his last chance at saving humanity.

He couldn't quite grasp a single solitary thought as he went up the stairs towards what he assumed was his death. He thought about his home. His friends. Vampires. Sasuke. Life after death. Could he survive? Why the hell an umbrella? What in the hell was he doing?

Before he knew it he was in the room. He was staring at the back of Itachi Uchiha. He had Sasuke pinned not against a wall, but nearly through it. Sasuke's eyes were a screaming red, filled with anger and undoubtedly thirst. Naruto knew Sasuke had been listening for his heart, most likely waiting for it to fade with the distance his steps took him.

But it was apparent he was too wrapped in what his brother was saying, all those words Naruto was barely catching, to notice the heated rhythm of his heart was louder than it should have been. The brothers were caught up biting words at each other as Naruto's feet sprang into action.

As if the simple shift of wind was the trigger, Itachi turned just in time for Naruto to take a swing at his head. The momentary distraction was enough to let Sasuke get out of the grasp, just as Itachi's hand was lurching for Naruto. Be it the fact that he had been lying and wanted Naruto dead, or was going to use Naruto as a hostage to get Sasuke to understand; the younger brother didn't waste time to find out which one it was.

Neither did Naruto, it seemed.

Be it reflex or pure dumb luck, the umbrella popped open after his wild swing at Itachi, and Itachi's reaching hand tore through the thin material. It blocked his view of Naruto who on chance reacted before thinking. The blond grabbed hold of Itachi's hand with a grimace and a prayer, and before he knew it his feet were in the air. Naruto couldn't see anything on the other side of the umbrella, but he held on for his life as he went crashing to the ground.

The umbrella was ripped away, and Naruto thrust his other hand out only to stop not an inch from Sasuke's face.

He was on top of Itachi, his hand poised at his throat. "Let go, Naruto."

The blond did just that, feeling his gag reflex check him when he pulled his hand back. There were pieces of partly melted skin stuck to his hand, boiled and blistered. Itachi's hand was still sizzling, as if acid were painting the perfect hand into some grotesque masterpiece.

Itachi was wincing, no doubt feeling pain for the first time in ages. Naruto took that as a weakness, he glared at him, ignoring the aches of his body. He was on his hands and knees next to him now, still debating on getting up. He ignored it, feeling more comfortable at Sasuke's level. On a whim, Naruto shoved his hand over Itachi's chest in a threatening manner. He'd burn the bastard and let Sasuke take off his head. First, he wanted answers to the crap he barely heard.

"Moon and Sun?" Naruto asked, his hand still hovering over Itachi. "The hell is all that shit about?"

"Yes, in the prophecy. You two can either bring Earth to life or destroy it." He replied calmly, as if the end of his life wasn't apparently at stake.

It took Naruto a minute to figure out what he was saying. He understood the Sun kept the Earth alive. He didn't quite understand the moon bit.

"The Moon is life for the Vampire race and the Sun is life for the human race." Sasuke supplied aloud, his hand still hovering at Itachi's neck, ready to rip off his head at any second.

"So, uh..." Naruto paused, feeling himself shrinking under the gaze of two vampires. "What's up with this shining star?"

"The stars guard the sky which the Sun and the-"

"Just stop!" He sighed, his head aching. There was too much information coming at him on a constant basis to really wrap his head around it. Vampires, wars, enemies, death, destruction, prophecies, destiny – all of it. It just became too much. He was going to lose it. It had become too much to take in in such a short period of time, let alone to come to terms with it in general.

"I can't take anymore of this explanation bullshit." Naruto growled, growing frustrated. "Do I need to trust you or not?"

Sasuke eyed him, thinking he was going about this the wrong way. Sasuke was convinced someone in this room was going to die by the hand of another, and he rather not have him or Naruto on the worse side of that assumption.

"Need - I think not." Itachi said in a low voice, as if a warning. "Should - I would agree."

He had lost his mind, Naruto thought, as he found himself staring down a vampire.

"Our fate, for lack of better words, is in your hand." Itachi's eyes just barely flicked to Naruto's threatening means still holding its ground. "But in any game of chess, Naruto, you must think a few steps ahead."

"I'm already there, Itachi." Naruto assured, his eyes narrowing. "The question is, are you?"

* * *

Kiba pulled back the slide of the gun and gently set it on the table when he heard the tale-tell click that it was loaded and ready. He lined it up next to the others that everyone else was preparing.

"I feel like Naruto." Gaara muttered.

Kiba laughed. "He did liked being prepared when it came to guns and nothing else. Go figure."

Shikamaru looked up. "But it is smart. I trust you two won't accidentally set one off."

Gaara looked up, giving his friend a withering glare for such a moronic comment. Kiba actually paused, thinking over if it would be possible to blow off an ass cheek on accident.

"So this is like, getting a license to kill or something?" Kiba asked, looking over at the last two in the room.

Tsunade gave a little shrug while she threw on her bulletproof vest. "Only when your life is threatened, and I wouldn't put it past Orochimaru. This isn't to go beyond us anyway."

Shikamaru looked to the woman next to him. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "He needs to be stopped, one way or another. He's become a monster that seems to have lost himself in darkness. No one can reach him." She sighed, grimacing a little at the thought.  
"Now I'm not saying I'm with you punks and this bullshit you're feeding me with vampires."

The three young guns in the room shared a look. It was something hard to grasp for them, too. It was still hard to face realization.

"But if he's back to this...this experimentation, he has to be stopped."

"He won't go down without a fight." Jiraiya supplied, making a gesture towards their weapons. "And we aren't sure how many people he's working with, as you all have supplied."

Shikamaru held Gaara and Kiba back when Jiraiya and Tsunade left the room and made for one of the two cars the five of them would be using.

"If things go south, we get them and get the hell out of there."

Kiba and Gaara nodded, not knowing how to fight one vampire let alone an entire army.

"Where do we go?" Gaara asked, knowing they needed a destination point.

Shikamaru sighed, knowing it was the _worst_ and only idea he had to follow through with. "To the Uchiha Manor...to Naruto."

* * *

It was a slow and steady process; careful, calculating and tense as the two let up on Itachi. Protective as ever, Sasuke guarded Naruto as Itachi stood slowly, even by Naruto standards, and made his way across the room. Itachi took a seat in an old antique wooden chair, crossing his legs and making himself seem at home and at ease. Sasuke stood in front of the blond on the opposite side of the room, his chest vibrating with a threatening growl. Naruto didn't even have to guess that Sasuke's teeth were bared, his fangs most likely glinting with malice.

"Stop, Sasuke." Naruto said lightly, trying to peer around him.

"We can't trust him." Sasuke bit, glaring across the room. "He can turn on us."

"_Can_. It's a risk we have to take. In all wars, risks have to be taken." Naruto muttered, as if Itachi couldn't hear him.

"Your life isn't supposed to be a risk." Sasuke hissed.

The blond rolled his bright eyes. "You have to trust me."

"It isn't about trusting you or not, Naruto."

Naruto glared at the back of Sasuke's head, probably still feeling above all after telling off a vampire and living to tell his tale. But he had to get it through to Sasuke one way or another, the more people on their side, the better their chances were. So, taking a chance, he hoped words were still powerful enough to get through to a supposed soulless creature.

"You can't have love without trust, Sasuke. This _is_ about trusting me. It's _my_ decision, _my_ gut instinct. Besides...if you can't trust me in all of this, who can you trust?"

The small rumbling stopped, and stone shoulders seems to melt. His body once tensed to spring fiercely into action was now poised in a semi-relaxed fashion.  
Itachi was looking at his hand, the delicate stone skin working to rebuild its wall of protection. Itachi's eyes flicked to his younger brother and he smirked.

"Dare I say it would be a mistake to take the two of you on."

"Don't tempt me." Sasuke whispered.

"Will it please the court to know I already had my chance?" Itachi inquired, his eyes going back to his hand. "I could have killed Naruto and all his little friends that night at the diner. Sipping coffee with idle chatter. It would have been easy, really."

Naruto's eyes became unfocused, his body wobbled slightly on the spot. His jaw relaxed and his mouth began to hang open.

Itachi was smirking as he was watching his hand, no doubt healing in slow motion. "That necklace can't protect him from everything..."

"You can't touch him." Sasuke reminded him, watching Itachi flex his hand.

"You don't think that if I really wanted to stop you and your so-called destiny I wouldn't use someone else? A mere mortal will do many a thing for simplistic nonsense. Remember, in war you must really think outside the box, like your precious little doll there."

Sasuke snapped his fingers, glaring at his brother. Naruto blinked, his eyes focusing on the things around him and his balance steadying him. He snapped his mouth shut and rubbed a hand over his hair.

"The hell was that?" The blond muttered.

Itachi stood, still slow and precise, walking towards the way he walked in. He would give the two of them a chance to talk things over, but not until he had in his last words. "I know Sasuke has you convinced that the two of you together is the only way to stop this. You giving up your mortal life, Naruto, can be avoided with the three of us."

Naruto's head poked out from behind Sasuke, his eyes alight with hope. "What?"

Itachi stopped at the doorway, ignoring the growling that was growing from his sibling. "Two Uchiha's and a man with powers to destroy any vampire. Madara would stand _no_ chance. Two people who can guard you and fight above average; one just isn't enough you see."

"What about Orochimaru?" The blond asked reasonably.

"A worthless Hunter who won't fight a battle he won't win." Itachi said venomously.

"But..." Naruto nearly stopped himself, Itachi sounded terrifying. "If he really did build this army?"

Itachi seemed to ponder this for a moment, and Naruto tried desperately not to think of the speed of Itachi's thought process. A few seconds were demanding.

"I hate to think about the consequences of something so drastic. The chances of Madara and Orochimaru working together under those pretenses are astounding. But, this is all just mere speculation mind you. Destiny, Naruto, is something you choose. Never the other way around."

The blond stepped out from behind Sasuke once Itachi had left the room and chanced a glance at his face. Blank and impassive, perfectly unreadable. The blond sighed.

"What the hell did he mean by that? You vampires and talking in riddles...it's getting old."

"Simple – you choosing the path we all follow you down."

"Still in riddles." Naruto pointed out easily.

"You can die or not. You can become a vampire or not. You can love me or not. It's down to what you choose. We have no choice in any of the matters except to protect you, is what he was saying."

"So no beastly thing to come out of me, right?"

"Amongst other things." Sasuke replied, turning his head awkwardly as if to crack his neck. Naruto gave him a funny look at the sudden jerking motion.

"I doubt using someone has yet to be this complicated." Naruto gave a half goofy smile, trying to lighten the mood. They were using each other, he reasoned. Both trying to gain what they wanted.

"Damn..." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head slightly.

Naruto eyed him. "What, I _am_ being used here?"

"This isn't good." Sasuke whispered, placing his hand on his forehead, shielding the sight of his eyes from Naruto. The blond, still as confused as ever, looked at him oddly.

"It must be so rough for you." Naruto quipped. "Having to take over your world and all. Difficult, letting the earth crumble into chaos while I try to hold it together. So demanding."

"Something isn't right." Sasuke bit, turning away from the blond and dashing across the room. Naruto took a step back out of shock and instinct. He glared through the dim lights of the room.

"What has gotten into you? Your brother-"

"This has nothing to do with him!"

Naruto didn't mean to flatten himself against a battered wall, but the voice that came out of Sasuke was petrifying. The blond swallowed thickly, his eyes widening at the sight of Sasuke's eyes. A deathly glowing red burning through the darkness. Slits of blood colored eyes straight from hell.

"You need to get out of here." Sasuke choked out, raspy and viscous.

"You can't do anything to me." Naruto said, promising himself more so than the creature across from him.

"It isn't because of _you_." Sasuke snarled, Naruto catching glints of white deathly teeth in the dim lights. "GO!"

Naruto didn't mean to duck when Sasuke yelled, but he swore he was about to fly across the room and kill them both. He thought maybe he had finally been pushed over the edge. Maybe some charmed necklace was a worthless shield and his life was doomed.

Ignoring his irrational thought process and following his gut instinct, he dashed out of the room. He turned and started his unsettling climb down the stairs, missing the crimson eyes of another Uchiha.

"GO, NARUTO!" Naruto stopped at the pained tone that gasped out, though he wasn't sure why.  
He was halfway down the stairs, and he turned to see what looked like a duo of demons escaping the darkness. Itachi and Sasuke were at the top of the stairs, their eyes screaming with thirst.

Naruto could have sworn his blood froze in his veins.

That's when he heard it. The pounding of feet against the concrete of the walkway. The voices from familiar faces. His face turned away from the frightening pair at the top of the steps to the front door. It was kicked in instantly, without a thought it seemed.

There stood his three best friend and his two bosses – splattered with blood.

He wasn't quite sure if it was their blood or if it belonged to someone else, but he really had no time to ponder it. The Uchiha brothers lurched forward and Naruto held in a breath as he hurtled himself up the stairs towards them, his arms outstretched. If Naruto was going to be stuck in between life and death, he wasn't going to be giving up without a fight.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry this isn't longer or more...whatever. I'm quite pleased with it and the set-up it starts.


	14. Sacrificial Innocence

Chapter Fourteen: Sacrificial Innocence

Author's Notes: I opened this document up and found it more completed than I originally thought. Updates for ALL fictions will be slow and random.

Warnings/Disclaimer/Nonsense: Nothing. Just...nothing.

Chapter Fourteen: Sacrificial Innocence

* * *

Pulling up to the house on the hill, tension rose in the two vehicles. They killed their lights as they rolled down the street, parking a bit out of the way, hoping the trees surrounding the manor would help conceal their cars. Slowly and quietly they exited their havens, trying to silence the gravel that crunched under their footfalls. The met between the two cars, converging to go over their plan once more.

"Now." Tsunade whispered, her fingers ghosting the holster on her hip. "Nara and I will be approaching the front door. He's familiar with the two of us."

The group nodded, Jiraiya eyeing the woman carefully. He wasn't exactly excited to send Tsunade right up to their one-time friend who now was apparently up to no good all over again.

"I need to confirm one way or another he's doing this experimentation before going a step further."

"So isn't this illegal?" Kiba whispered, dying to ask that for some time now.

She sighed. "If I can get him to let me inside casually, and I can just so happen to "randomly" see something, I'm pretty sure I can get us out of anything legal in court."

"Anyway, the story about us two showing up together and why." Shikamaru pushed, ready to get this moving.

"Reunion." She clipped, turning to shoot him a glare. "You just so happened to mention your meeting him while at lunch with me. I wanted to see him."

"He's going to know." Jiraiya sounded in. "He'll know right then."

She sighed, rubbing circles on her temples. "It's a risk we will have to take. I just need to get in that house, that's the only thing I'm concerned about right now."

"But how everything ended with us before, he'll know we won't just want to drop by for a visit, Tsunade." Jiraiya said, his voice laced with warning.

"What do you mean by that?" Gaara interrupted.

"It's nothing." Tsunade shot.

"Nothing?" Kiba bit harshly. "We needed to know _everything_. Not just enough to get us killed but not enough to save our lives. What type of rationality is that?"

"It isn't a big deal." Tsunade went on, pressing harder.

"It sounds to me that it's as if I'm showing up with you and he'll sense we're trying to sniff around." Shikamaru added. "Or he'll think we're up to more."

She let out a long, low and defeated sigh. Her shoulders sank in helpless way. Her honey eyes drifted towards the ground in aversion. "We were the ones...who got him to this point in the first place. We found him out. His dearest friends and partners, and we turned him in. We forced our backs to him."

"We did the right thing." Jiraiya insisted.

"We were the only friends he had..." She said lightly, as if in a distant world of thoughts, barely grounded to this world. "We took that away."

Kiba held in a growl, but his chest still rumbled his frustration. "So you're willing to risk all of us, Konoha _and_ Naruto?"

"Of course not, brat." She said looking up with a glare, her tone lacing with heated anger.

"Then put the past behind you and settle with what you have now in the present, and most of all, the precious people you can save. We have an opportunity here."

Tsunade marched up to him, and the rest of the group braced themselves for a square punch to the jaw that would have them minus one team member. But instead her intense eyes shown through the darkness, there was a gleam of hope.

"Get to your mark fuzzbrain, and don't fuck it up."

"Same to you, _hag_." He added with a smirk, stepping back and letting his footfalls tread lightly on the gravel. Gaara followed after him.

"New cover story." Tsunade said suddenly to the remaining three as the two silently blended into the darkness of night, drifting away from them.

"Shikamaru was going to see Orochimaru. By word of mouth I came simply by protocol of check-up. He'll be less suspicious that way, and if he'll have something to hide, he'll be more manipulative. Leading us away from obviousness – the usual, cocky business."

Skimaru let out a small, silent sigh of relief. This was a far better and less risky plan. He could easily work with this one. The last one had him on edge for quite some time. His genius brain couldn't seem to quite grasp the way to bullshit around it in trickery.

Tsunade gave a nod to Jiraiya who gave her a stern look before turning on his heal and disappearing into the darkness as well. The blonde turned to her young partner and nodded in the direction of the house.

They walked in the light of the moon, the only thing lighting their path. On a continuous basis up the long and winding driveway, their hands would go to swipe over their concealed weapons. Over the crunch of the gravel under the soles of their shoes, their brains ticked away with countless scenarios. Shikamaru tried to tell himself it was going to go alright. There could _not_ be an army. He simply had to shake a little information out of this man and he'd be one step closer to getting his friend back.

Nothing – not even something his mind could cook up – could be this complex. It just couldn't be possible.

They didn't even falter the closer they got, it seems their feet carried them in unwanted eagerness. The windows were lit with dim lights, all of them glowing ominously on the hill barely filling the air. Shikamaru finally double checked his footing and held out a hand, grabbing Tsunade's arm. She turned to look at him harshly, glaring viscously. His free hand was slowly snaking for his gun, his eyes were trained on the door. He nodded his head slowly, his hardened grip disappearing.

Her honey eyes turned, swiveling in the direction he was indicating. She instantly found her heart in her throat. Blood splatter littered the door, looking like there had been the beginning of a brutal slaying. Blunt force trauma, she would bet money on it.

The two of them brought out their guns, taking their stances and approaching the door with more caution than before if at all possible.  
Tsunade held up her hand to her shoulder, balling it into a fist, a command for stop. She pointed her hand towards the front door splattered with blood, the door been left cracked open.

Shikamaru tapped her shoulder, giving her the go ahead and following straight at her heels. Tsunade pushed the door open with the point of her gun, her eyes flying forward and stepping in, turning right with her gun at point. Shikamaru followed right behind her, turning left pointing his pistol as well.

"Clear." Shikamaru and Tsunade said simultaneously.

"Can you contact them?" The blonde asked, pointing her gun here and there, her eyes scanning the room cautiously.

He shook his head in response, looking over the area as well. "All I hear is static."

"This is bad." Tsunade muttered.

"Oh, but I beg to differ, I find this to be a lovely reunion."

The two whipped around, guns blazing and their shoulders squared. There at the top of the steps stood Orochimaru, smirking wickedly. He spread out his hands wide, opening his arms like he was welcoming the two. Their guns held their positions at the ready, fingers square on the trigger and the man in their iron sights.

"The two of you together, why what a pleasant and unexpected surprise." Orochimaru smirked, his sickly voice sending chills down their backs.

"What's with the blood?" Shikamru dared.

"Tell us what's going on!" Tsunade snapped.

"Why would I tell you when I can simply..._show _you."

* * *

"Something doesn't feel right." Kiba muttered, his feet cautious as he walked through the crowded woods.

Gaara stepped around a shrub and then a tree, his eyes scanning the dark night uncertainly. "I feel it, too."

"You two stay calm. Nothing is wrong until it goes wrong." Jiraiya whispered.

A horrid pitch of screams ripped through the air like a knife cutting across glass. The three of them pulled guns, stopping in their tracks.

"What the fuck?" Kiba whispered breathlessly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

They heard a series of gunshots pop off from the direction of the mansion, the three of them having their heads jerk in that direction. Another wale of painful, inhuman screams followed. They could hear yelling, but unable to make out the words.

"They need us." Gaara said suddenly.

A tree branch cracked a few yards away from them, crashing abruptly to the ground. The group swung their attention back to the area, their guns pointed and ready.  
Another branch fell behind them, causing them to turn sharply. A few leaves rustled to their left, but before they could turn, they heard footsteps to their right.

Their backs met, the three of them pointing their guns in different directions. They heard another round of shots come from near the mansion.

"I can't even tell if we're surrounded or not." Gaara muttered, his eyes searching frantically.

"But it sounds like Shikamaru and Tsunade need us." Kiba whispered, his eyes refusing to blink.

"If we stay here, and we really are surrounded, our goose is cooked." Jiraiya said.

"Then we run for it. If we can meet up with Shikamaru and Tsunade are chances are higher with more people." Gaara nodded, hoping his plan was good enough.

"Leave the fallen." Jiraiya said.

Kiba and Gaara flinched, Kiba spoke up first. "Hell no."

"If we really are dealing with something supernatural that likes blood, at least a fallen member will be an honorable sacrifice."

"You've lost your damn mind, Jiraiya!" Kiba snapped as more noises began to surface around them,

"RUN!" Gaara bellowed.

The three took off the way they came. Gaara and Kiba leaping over tree trunks and fallen branches, occasionally stumbling when they would look back behind them as they heard more footsteps race along with them. Jiraiya swung his hand back behind him with his gun and blindly let off shots, hoping it would scare away whatever was toying with them.

The three of them broke from the woods, skidding slightly on the gravel of the driveway before taking off in the direction of Tsuande and Shikamaru. They stopped in their tracks when the duo came stampeding down the driveway, shooting behind them and covered in blood.

"TO THE CARS!" Tsunade yelled.

The three turned right around and made straight for their vehicles, but for the sake of time, only jumped into one. Gaara ripped open the door only to have Kiba bolt past him and do an amazing leap that could only be accredited to terror. He managed to get himself quickly in the drivers seat and jammed the key in the ignition.  
Jiraiya had opened the back door just as Gaara hopped in the front, his nose ghosted the window as he squinted into the night. His eyes suddenly grew in shock.

"Put it in drive." Gaara told Kiba, his eyes still looking after Tsunade and Shikamaru, closely followed by at least, what looked like, twenty scrawny people dripping with blood.

Jiraiya jumped in the car just as Tsunade and Shikamaru barreled in and turned around, shooting out the open door.

"I'm out!"

Jiraiya took over for Shikamaru as Kiba pulled off before flooring it down the road.

"GUN! GIVE ME YOUR GUNS AND ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS!"

Gaara and Kiba handed over one of their three weapons, Tsunade had been brave enough to mange to shut the door to the SUV while it was roaring over the road. Shikamaru climbed over the seats and climbed halfway out the window, Tsunade mirrored him. Jiraiya watched out the back window in horror.

The group was still following them, but their car was barely picking up speed from them.

Tsunade climbed back in the window after she fired her last shot, and with a wild swing, threw her gun to nail one of them in the head.

"What the fuck are those things?" Kiba yelled, his eyes just now locking with the rear view mirror.

Gaara pointed to the next road they were supposed to take, and the brunette banged a hard left. Jiraiya and Tsunade grabbed onto Shikamaru's legs so they wouldn't lose him.

Tsunade left Jiraiya in control of holding Shikamaru's ankles as she made her way in between the two front seats, the headlights shining off into the darkness.

"They're...they're..." She swallowed thickly. "They're undeveloped. Vampires that haven't formed completely. Their powers are still above human level, but not enough to be a deadly killing machine that vampires are."

"What?" Kiba shook his his head, barreling down the road as the MPH gauge came up on it's limit.

"Orochimaru...he...he let them out."

"_Why would I tell you when I can simply..._show_ you."_

"What they hell are you talking about?" Tsunade snapped. "Stop with the bullshit."

"Oh there are only truth in my words..."

Orochimaru took one step back, making Shikamaru squeeze the trigger ever so slightly. "Don't move."

"Oh, only one more quick thing." Orochimaru promised in a hiss, a sick smile curving on his lips. "They aren't complete, but they'll do to get rid of pests like you."

He pulled on a rope, something that looked like it opened a curtain in an eloquent theater. Instead, it dropped the dirty and tattered hanging that covered the massive wall. Behind it were large glass tube, large enough to fit in just what they were holding. Human bodies.

The tubes were filled with a light purple liquid, wires were protruding from every angle, raining out of the top of them tubes and weaving into a honey comb system of machines and IV type bags.

The two watched in stunned horror as the water began to drain, the wires were unhooking themselves.

Orochimaru started a slow, mocking clap. He was gleaming down at the two, his back towards his newest creations.

"They're underdeveloped vampires. Sadly, they didn't grow in time. But your friends are dealing with a couple fully matured ones. I'm sure you all will meet the same fate in due time.   
_  
A loud crash of shattering glass echoed through the mansion. Orochimaru gave a halfhearted wave and turned to make his leave._

"DON'T MOVE!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Oh, I just don't want to get in the way." He said over the breaking of glass, still continuing out of sight.

"Shikamaru..." Tsunade said warningly.

The two of them had their eyes scanning the area. Limbs were breaking out of the tubes right in front _of them in some grotesue show. They slowly started taking their steps back just as the first one came barreling out towards them._

"OPEN FIRE!" Tsunade yelled.  
  
"We finally started running, and that's when we ran into you."

"That's what had to be in the woods." Gaara said, pointing at the next turn.

"Then where are they now?"

"NEW ONES!" Shikamaru bellowed.

Kiba punched the steering wheel. "OH COME ON!"

"There! The Uchiha manor!" Tsunade yelled, pointing in between the two in the front. Her sleeve was splattered with blood.

Kiba leaned forward in his seat, as if it would make the already speeding vehicle move fast. He drove right through the gate without hesitation, and luckily, Tsunade turned around and yanked Shikamaru back in the window.

All of them but the driver looked behind them, the group still coming after them as they barreled up the driveway. Kiba slammed on the breaks and skidded across the lawn up to the front door, spinning one hundred and eighty degrees. None of them hesitated to look at the swarm climbing towards them. They clambered out of the car, rushing towards the front door. The group of them accidentally ran into each other when Shikamaru went to push open the door.

He drew back, and Gaara and Kiba joined him on kicking the door.

In a blink of an eye, it burst open, and the group rushed in the mansion in search of Naruto. This was it. They were getting him and leaving. That was last their and final plan. But now, as they locked eyes with the blond on the steps before noticing the two lingering vampires at the top, they knew the plan was to change.

They would now have to fight for their lives.

* * *

Naruto went into his launching move expecting to die.

He wasn't fearless about it by any means, but the thought of losing so many people pushed him into madness. Talking about it had been one thing, but facing it showed him what he would do in order to protect them. He was the only one and he had the most chance of survival.

With his arms outstretched and two vampires streaking down the stairs, he relied on the only upper hand he felt he had on them. Sheer dumb luck.

He felt his hand collide with something before he really saw it. The feel of bubbling skin popping blisters and melting against his hand proved he made contact.  
But sadly, he only made contact with one.

Just as Naruto noticed he had luckily blinded Itachi. His hand was shoved out at the right angle and position with Itachi's angled degree of his body for his hand to collide with his eyes.

He was not lucky enough to have Sasuke blast in a blur right past him.

Without thinking and simply acting on instinct, Naruto tore his other hand over to Itachi's face, shoving his hand over his noise and mouth. In an instant spark he thought maybe, just maybe, if he took down Itachi's main senses he could deal with Sasuke on a capable level.

After a few long, agonizing seconds, Naruto pulled his hands away. Itachi's body slumped to the floor, his face sizzling and popping unpleasantly. He was lifeless and still.

But the blond had no time to worry about that. He had heard a loud bang, and something akin to a door being broken off it's hinges. He turned around to find a horrifying and heart stopping scene.

Sasuke had Shikamaru hanging in the air by his neck in his iron grip. The door was spread out behind him, cracked and ripped from the doorway.  
Shikamaru was turning an unhealthy shade of blue, his legs losing some of it's kicks. Sasuke was so distracted by everyone else taking daring turns to keep his attention, he seemingly forgot to go for the kill on Shikamaru. Instead he let him fade slowly, let him be no more of a hassle but simply an easy meal.

"SASUKE!" Naruto bellowed, not thinking.

His mind was still blank. The only thing he could think of was saving his friends. It had been the only thing on his mind since this whole ordeal started. His friends and family. He was filled with heavy emotions of loss, feeling as though he already let the fate of Konoha, his family and friends, slip through his fingers. Just because he couldn't fall in love with a stupid vampire.

Becoming desperate enough to do anything he could to stall time and help his friends perhaps make a desperate escape from town, he decided to pull his Ace.  
He reached up and tugged his necklace over his head, holding the dangling trinket from his hand. He locked eyes with fiery red that focused on him like a hawk dying for prey.

Without a second more of hesitation or possible thought of not doing it, he flung it to Kiba who just barely caught it.

"TOUCH HIM AND RUN!"

Albeit, Kiba had a million questions, snark comments, and foul words to toss at his best friend; he needed no further telling. He haphazardly slipped the necklace on and grabbed the arm Sasuke was using to hold up Shikamaru. In a flash he was dropped and Kiba was flung against a wall by the force of Sasuke shaking him off.

Naruto almost panicked. All his power was gone in an instant, his friends were still in a danger zone, and he had his eyes locked with a vampire.

"You want me, not them." He said in a shaky voice, just barely a whisper.

Sasuke was turned to face him now. Gaara had slipped behind him somehow and was dragging Shikamaru away and out the doorway as he coughed harshly. Tsunade and Jiraiya, who had almost gotten hit by Kiba, were picking him up and following Gaara.

"They won't give you what you want, Sasuke. You know that..."

His chest rumbled in a threatening growl that caused Naruto's knees to shake, but not for him to lose his ground.

"A thirst only I can quench. Why waste your time?"

Naruto's heart was thudding in a deafening roar in his ears. Now he was unsure if he was whispering or yelling. The only relief came when he no longer saw his friends in sight.

Sasuke's head shifted, turning to focus one eye more clearly on Naruto as if regarding him. As if contemplating. The worse thing that could happen right now was for Sasuke to turn around and flash out the door to slaughter his friends.

Naruto took one hesitant step down the stairs, his hands fallen helplessly by his side. He was walking to his death, he figured. Willingly and openly. He should have just begged.

"Don't bother with them, Sasuke. Just me, only me. The one you love. Kill the one most important thing to you."

In a flash Naruto found himself bashed against the stairs, so shocked was he, a noise couldn't even come out in his startled state. His found his body screaming in pain at the force and uncomfortable position. Something that was easily overseen by the fact there was a vampire on top of him, like a creature summing up his prey.  
Sasuke's face was just above his, his hands on either side of his face. His eyes were blazing. Naruto could feel the ice cold body of Itachi lying next to him, now pushed uncaringly off to the side.

"Just me and you now Sasuke, just like our destiny was planned."

The blond shivered when Sasuke's fingers gripped his chin, inclining his head and making full use of his neck. The blond let his eyelids slide shut.

Naruto whispered his last plea, a simple one that barely left his lips. "Please don't kill my friends and family."

Just before the animalistic side of Sasuke completely took control, he voiced his last words before his fangs hovered above tan flesh. "Nothing more to hurt you...I will keep your heart safe."

Just as Sasuke's lips touched on Naruto's neck, a tear streaked down a scarred cheek. The blond bit his lip not to scream or beg for his life as he felt fangs of death bury in his skin. He simply muttered as he realized this was his last bit of life.

"Thank you..."

* * *

Shikamaru coughed, his arms slightly flailing in Gaara's grasp.

"We can't leave him!" Shikamaru bellowed, followed by another coughing session.

Jiraiya had Kiba slung over his shoulder and had Tsunade's upper arm in a fierce grip. "We have no choice."

"Yes we do!"

"It was the brat's wish." Tsunade muttered, her lips quivering. She ripped her arm out of the hold and paused only for a second before walking forward. "It's the least we can do...to honor his last wish..."

"The last thing Naruto would want to know is that we died when he was striving to avoid that. It would be a shame to his memory." Gaara said, lifting his hands from Shikamaru as he stood.

The genius, the one who had all the answers, stared up at the looming Uchiha manor from the end of the yard. He was out of ideas and options. He was at a loss.

"Then what do we do now?"

Tsunade was standing behind Jiraiya, looking over Kiba tenderly. Her hard knock personality dulled by pain.

"We do the one thing we have yet to do." She whispered, stroking Kiba's hair. "We pray and we hope. At the same time, we need to get our loved ones and leave while we can."

"One last thing..." Shikamaru whispered, his fists clenching and beginning to shake. "What happened to the ones chasing us?"

* * *

A pile of bodies were at Orochimaru's feet. Two demons of hell were flanking him, the three of them staring at the bodies in a bored manner.

"Was their blood sufficient?"

The one with white hair shifted his eyes from the pile, to his creator. Orochimaru lifted his hand and gave a halfhearted wave to him.

"Come now, Kimimaro. I don't have all day."

"No." He instantly replied.

The man gripped his own chin, his eyes still looking over the pile in contemplation.

"Not the same when you bring back the dead, I take it?"

"It's not." Kimimaro replied.

Orochimaru hummed lightly, his lips twitching in thought. "They kill the same. I suppose you'll both still have to hunt the townsfolk until I get this right. At this rate...I'll have nothing left to destroy, and what fun would that be?"

* * *

Author's Notes: So...this went completely different than as planned. I honestly didn't want so much of this to happen so soon, but I think this is good. I can't drag this out forever, it would be pointless otherwise.  
ANYWAY - I don't know if I'll be able to update untilsometime _after_ Otakon. I'll be busy up until then.


End file.
